Magic of Valentine
by Zierra
Summary: A year after a fateful Halloween party, will Squall accept some help freely this time? Or is Ellone playing by her own rules? Warning: Yaoi and a higher rating than before. Sq&Z Sequel to Magic of Halloween!
1. Chapter 1

Oh, it's late, it's un-betaed and I really should be asleep right now. Have to get up early tomorrow, somebody's got (regular)work to do! But I wanted to get something up tonight, mostly to tell you all that I am writing something and that's it just not just talk, and to keep the timeline somewhat accurate. I mean, I'm only two days late, right? 

I really hope you enjoy this, I'll send it off to be betaed, but that's tomorrow. It's the Olympics now too, I girl can only do so much at a time!

Sorry about the language too, I cuss when I'm tired.

* * *

It had been a year since Selphie's unforgettable Halloween party. Well, one year and two and a half months, but Squall still hadn't gotten over every aspect of that fateful night. Although he was trying really hard not to think about it and daring anyone else to do it wither. He especially wanted everyone to forget the fact that they had known of his most intimate problem to date.

Damn Ellone and her worthless timing.

No one had been surprised when Squall had politely declined Selphie's invitation to her Halloween-party last year. Or scratch that, they had been surprised that Squall had _politely _declined.

He sighed heavily where he sat by his desk, signed his (by now) disfigured signature on a piece of paper he had read three times and understood nothing about before moving on to the next waiting its turn.

This one had actually been insisting on his attention all day, ever since he'd seen the name at the bottom, but protocol (Hyne, how he hated protocol!) forced him to deal with reports in order of date. And this one was dated today, February 13th.

It was Zell's third and last report from the mission he was currently on. He had been deployed two and a half months previous, on a mission that should have taken a minimum of three weeks, and by now pretty much everyone was worried about the blond fighter.

Selphie called it 'friendship-nerves', caused by Zell's long absence and the fact that they hadn't seen or - in some cases - talked to Zell in over two months. Squall had received a grand total of _one _phone call and although it had lasted no more than thirty seconds (or maybe because of that), Squall had slept a full two hours that following night.

The reports he sent were irregular and often inconsistent, and even though they hadn't contained anything to worry about, Squall was still feeling his neck muscles tense up whenever he reached for that a4 sheet of off-white recyclable paper.

He skimmed Zell's report quickly, some grammatical error making him feel slightly at ease. At least he was sure this was Zell.

He reached the end and frowned, glancing quickly at the clock. 3.15 PM. Zell would return to Garden on February 14th at approximately 10 AM. Tomorrow at 10 PM.

Valentine's day.

He never celebrated Valentine's Day. He really didn't care or bothered with the fact that it was Valentine's day, but apparently he was outnumbered by the students, the cadets, the SeeD's, the instructors, the Faculty and oh, don't forget; the Cafeteria ladies. He didn't care for V-day and he didn't care for heart shaped sprinkles in his morning coffee either.

But maybe things would be different this year. Maybe they had to be. Because this year he actually had someone he _wanted_ to celebrate it with. The only problem was he had no idea how.

He thoughtfully tapped the phone, contemplating his options carefully before picking up the receiver and resolutely dialled a number.

"Sis… No, everything's fine. Do you remember a year ago?… Halloween?… Right. You owe me one, as you may recall… Whatever, I need a favour."

§§§

Zell bounced off the ferry and shouldered his backpack with grin.

Finally, he was home!

Drawing in a deep breath of the clear Balamb air, he headed towards his Ma's house. It had been way longer than three months since he's seen her last and it was Valentine's Day after all. He fingered the small gift in his pocket that he'd bought her three years ago but always forgotten to give her. Somehow he had packed it together with some clean socks (that's where he'd hidden it!) before he left for his mission and had decided it was finally time she got it. It may be a few years out of style though, but mothers rarely cared.

"Ma?" he called, kicking off his shoes and carelessly tossing his backpack in the hallway and proceeded into the house. Like always, it smelled of fresh baked bread and although it was only an hour after breakfast, Zell's stomach growled appreciatively.

"Ma?"

She wasn't in the kitchen - strangely - or in the living room, so ran up the stairs, checking the bathroom door on the way over to their bedrooms. They were next to each other, which had been a good thing when Zell moved in with his new parents and he woke up at night, scared of a thunderstorm or awoken by a nightmare. It was less convenient when he reached puberty and realized how boys' anatomies worked.

He noticed that his bedroom door was ajar, so he pushed it open, obviously surprising his mother who was sitting on his bed.

"Ma?"

She quickly wiped her eyes, grabbing a handful of sheets as she stood. Apparently she had been in there to do laundry. Not like he'd slept in those sheets since she last made his bed, though.

"Why didn't you answer me?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart", she said with a faint smile. "I haven't heard your voice for while, I thought I was imagining it. What are you doing here, honey? Is something wrong?"

Zell, who had always been a mama's boy and took a certain amount of pride in that (he was the only one with a mother, after all), went of to her and pulled her into a hug.  
"Everything's fine, Ma, I just got back from Timber, thought I'd stop by to see you. Happy Valentine's day", he said, handing over the no-longer-neatly wrapped gift. "Or whatever they say."

"Oh, darling!"

Ma Dincht wasn't a tall woman, but to Zell she had always seemed at least 10 feet. Right now, sobbing into Zell's shoulder, she seemed no bigger than ten inches.

And she looked so fragile.

It scared him each time he saw her after an extended period of time apart, how old she looked. Her wrinkles seemed to deepen and her hair greyed a shade for each visit, while her eyes dulled and smile faded.

His Ma was getting old and they both knew it.

"Ma?" He couldn't help but sounded alarmed. Having your mother crying like a baby in your arms would throw any child for a loop. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing, dear. I was just reminiscing about the past and got a little caught up in emotions. But I'm fine now", she sniffed and straightened with determination. "Happy Valentine's Day to you too, precious. Are you hungry?"

"Always. Open you gift, Ma!"

She smiled affectingly at him, ruffling his hair.

"You grow every time I see you", her voice was still strained and sounded slightly hoarse. "I keep forgetting your not that little boy we brought home from the orphanage that couldn't get enough of my cinnamon buns."

Zell snickered. "I still can't."

"Do you remember how long ago that was?" Her hand lingered on his shoulder, thin and spidery, knuckles beginning to show underneath greying skin.

"Fifteen years."

"Today. Fifteen years ago, on February 14th, your father and I became proud parents of a blue-eyed little angel with the name Zell. You cannot understand until you have children of your own, how happy we were that day."

Ma's eyes watered up again and Zell - to his uttermost embarrassment - began feeling mellow too.

"I love you, my prince, and you will always be my sweet little baby boy, no matter how old you get or how far away you move, ok?"

"Ok, Ma."

Zell choked and pulled his mother in for a bone-crushing hug. He heard her wheeze from the force of it so he quickly released her and bounded down the stairs before she saw him cry.

"You promised me food, Ma!"

§§§§

11.15 AM

A soft knock on the door brought Squall out of his reverie. He kept re-reading the same paragraph over and over and the sun kept distracting him by making interesting shapes on the opposite wall.

He frowned and checked the time.

Damn, was it that late already? He hadn't meant to drown himself in work like this, but he supposed that it kept his mind off of other things. And shit, he was hungry too. Well, no real surprise there, since he'd missed breakfast.

Right, the door.

"Enter!"

The door swished open faster than usual, or maybe Squall's brain was just too slow to keep up and revealed a depressed looking Zell on the other side.

Squall immediate stood, stray papers falling to floor.

Yeah right, Zell was coming home today.

"(_You look like shit_) What's wrong?"

Zell entered and the door closed behind him, the fake smile plastered all over his face made Squall sneer.

"Nothing's wrong, I just…" He trailed off as he met Squall's eyes.

Biting back a scream (_Fucking liar!), _Squall stared deeper and sneered harder.

Zell sighed.

"Ma was telling stories and showing me baby-pictures, is all. She seemed so sad that she doesn't see me as much anymore. I guess she rubbed off on me."

Squall sat down again, reorganizing his papers.

"You want some time off?"

He didn't really want to grant it though, Zell had been away long enough as it was. He was already behind with other duties, he was losing contact with his students and he kept missing a lot of new developments and regulations… and maybe Squall was just shitting himself, unwilling to admit that he had missed Zell just as much as the others.

"Nah", Zell shrugged. "I've been away too long and I suppose my students are slacking with the sub."

Right, exactly.

"Besides", he added with a grin. "I guess I kinda missed you guys, you know? This is my home too."

Oh…

"Well, ok."

An uncomfortable silence settled between them. This was the first time in a very long time that they had been completely alone, and even though Zell seemed reasonably at ease with Squall's rather public display a year ago, he'd never brought up the topic. And Hell would freeze over is Squall ever took the first step.

But something had come out of the brunette's tail-swag. A deeper understanding for one another, a kind of friendship that went a little deeper than just knowing favourite color and "I know what you did last summer".

"Hey", Zell said suddenly, Squall involuntarily flinching. He really needed to do something about his lapses of concentration. "I was thinking about having a Valentine's dinner tonight, you wanna come?"

Squall leant back in his seat. Tonight? Zell couldn't possibly have been away long enough to forget that Selphie always had a party on major holidays (and some not so major and some not even holidays). And this year she seemed to have a handwritten consent form for having a party on a weekday and somehow it had his signature on it.

"Eh", Zell shifted restlessly before him. "I mean to invite everyone. Its just dinner, man, before Selphie's party. You don't wanna drink on an empty stomach."

"Sure. I mean, I'll come. (_I'd love to.)_"

"Great! I should go unpack, I've been living out of my pocket for the last month and I really need a shower."

"Alright _(It's good to have you back, Zell)._"

"See you tonight then, at five?"

"Yeah (_Looking forward to it)."_

Zell flashed Squall a pearly white grin before the door closed behind him and Squall sighed.

He really needed to work in his inner monologs.

§§§

12 AM

Seifer strolled casually into the cafeteria while he pointedly ignored the winking lunch lady and purposely made way towards his usual table. Fuujin and Raijin would be having lunch at the same time today; they'd bring him something.

On his way through the Caf he caught sight of a familiar mop of hair.

"Hey, Chickie!"

The cafeteria went unnervingly silent but he paid it no heed. Zell looked up, his mouth twisting in a half-smile, half-grimace as he flipped Seifer off. Normally, or at least normal a year before, Zell would have been on his feet, desperately trying (and failing) to get into Seifer's face.

"You're back."

"How observant, genius."

With a chuckle and a playful slap on the head, Seifer settled into the chair next to Zell, winked conspiratorially at Selphie and gave Quistis an overly sweet smile.

"What's up?" Zell asked flippantly, and chose to disregard Seifer's theft of food from his plate.

"Not much. How was Timber?"

"Dull, like you wouldn't believe."

On the other side of the table, Selphie and Quistis exchanged a curious glance. One that did not go unnoticed.

"What?" Seifer asked, now stealing food from Quistis.

"Nothing", she said, smiling. " Just not used to the two of you exchanging pleasantries."

Selphie willingly offered Seifer the last piece of her baguette and figured it was worth her two cents.

"You're being nice. Well, nice-r."

"You've got problem with me being nicer?"

"No! Not at all, just… wondering why."

Zell snorted. "Don't look a gifted horse in the mouth, Selph. So, you're both coming tonight?"

Selphie broke out into a beaming smile.

"Of course! Who else are coming?"

Seifer tried to look disinterested as the conversation he had interrupted continued, but his natural curiosity wouldn't allow his ears to stop listening.

"I haven't asked everyone yet, so as of now, it's you two, and Squall."

"Squall?" Quistis asked, snooping radar alerting. "He's coming?"

"Well, who are you gonna invite else?" Selphie seemed completely disinterested in the fact that Squall had accepted an invitation for the first time in a year. Seifer tilted his head so that the sound had a shorter way to travel before reaching his eardrum.

"Well, Irvine of course and Rinoa. Maybe Nida, but I don't think he'd be too comfortable around you guys."

"But it's always nice to be asked."

For some reason, Quistis threw Seifer a fast glance before turning back to Selphie.

Yeah, Seifer silently agreed, it's sure nice to be asked.

"Irvy won't say no, not when there's free food involved."

"Food?"

Seifer had reached the limit of how much he could stand being left in the dark. It didn't help that the topic was one of his favourites as well: everyone else.

Selphie nodded vigorously while Quistis seemed to have indigestion problems.

"Yeah, Zelly's having a V-day dinner party, or you know; A finally-back-home-after-a-long-ass-mission- and-he's-missed-us-all (-but-mostly-Selphie)-soooo-much kinda thing."

Seifer nodded, looking over his shoulder to the entrance. Weren't Fuu and Raijin coming soon?

"Sounds nice, have fun."

He made as if to stand but was restrained by a strong grip around his wrist.

"You wanna come?"

Seifer was floored.

He had expected nothing, and if anything maybe an apology, but never an invitation.

"Uh."

"Is that a yes or a no?" Selphie chirped, batting her lashes at him.

"A yes, I guess. What time."

"5 Pm, tonight. You don't have to bring anything."

"What!" Selphie sprang to her feet, leaning threateningly over the table at Zell. "Why doesn't he have to bring anything? You asked me for a gazillion things!"

Zell rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Selph, I asked you for a CD that you borrowed from me "a gazillion" years ago and to bring that movie you've been bugging us about."

"Yeah, but…" Selphie's bottom lip got in the way of further speech and Seifer smirked, getting up. His posse just walked through the doors and he did have a reputation to uphold.

"See you later then."

* * *

TBC 


	2. Chapter 2

I'm really sorry for the extremely long wait! I've been lazy, I'm overworked and well… kind of understaffed in the brains department. 

But here's chapter two, and guess what waits ahead?…. No, I'll tell you at the end…

* * *

After Zell had left to hunt down Irvine and Nida and deliver his message, Quistis and Selphie were given some time on their own. Somehow, Selphie had managed to raise some money for a "Welcome back" gift for Zell in an impressive 10 minutes (whether it was because most people really liked Zell, or because Selphie could be really scary when she put her mind to it, Quistis didn't know) and now she sat mulling over a list of potential things to buy.

"Do you think Zell would want a new rubber duck? I mean, his last one was kind of mutilated by Angelo."

"A rubber duck?"

"Yeah, you know, the kind you have in your bathtub. Or maybe some porcelain dolphins like the ones we saw on that vacation we were on a few weeks ago."

"Selphie, that was a mission."

"Yeah, well we didn't do much except tanning and drinking lots and lots of water."

Quistis grinned despite of herself. So maybe the mission hadn't been that important. Or that eventful for that matter.

"Hey, Selphie?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you noticed how absent Squall has seemed lately?" It had bugged her for a while now. You could catch the Commander spacing out at any given time, and sometimes during the most inopportune moments. Like last weeks staff meeting… She had been so embarrassed when Galbadia Gardens headmistress had asked if Squall had had time to review the Garden budget and the brunette blurted out; "with cream, please."

"Lately? No, why?"

Quistis shrugged. She wasn't even sure what point she wanted to make anyway, she just wanted to know if anyone else had noticed the same as she.

"He's just seemed so closed off for the past few months. You don't suppose it could have anything to do with the, you know… spell?

Selphie's head immediately shot up, the pen drawing a long line down the list she'd been making and she gasp dramatically.

"You think Ellone's done it again?"

"No!" Quistis exclaimed a little louder than she had intended. Looking around cautiously, she leant in closer. "Maybe something happened that's bothering him."

Both of them looked the other in the eye and grinned at the memory. Knowing Squall the way they did, he probably was plenty bothered by everything that had happened that night. But that was not the point Quistis wanted to make.

Maybe the Cafeteria at lunchtime wasn't the best place to have this conversation.

"Like a side affect?" Selphie asked, turning serious. "I don't think so. Sure, I wasn't there when he turned back, but Zell said he seemed perfectly fine. And back to normal, too."

"Wait, Zell was there?"

This bit of information she had no idea about. Well, she knew both of them were gone by the time the clock struck midnight, but she didn't think they'd gone off together.

"Yeah", Selphie answered. "He said Squall was very cool about it. But then Zell left for a mission and I couldn't grill him anymore about it."

Quistis' mind was working overtime now. Zell had been with Squall when he'd turned back, which meant they'd been alone just before, when Squall was still… hexed. Alright. And Squall had been acting strange for the past few months. The past few months Zell had been off on a mission? Oh…

"Could something have happened between Squall and Zell?" She wondered aloud. "Zell left shortly after, they wouldn't have had time to talk about it, even if they'd been the "talk about it" kind."

"No", Selphie said with great conviction. "If they'd had a fight, Squall wouldn't come to Zell's party."

"I didn't mean a fight, Selphie."

"Then what?"

Quistis grinned, pieces clicking into place.  
"Let me put it like this; you were the one saying they looked cute together on the dance floor."

"Yeah, so?… Oh… Oh! You think?"

"Maybe. How about we give them some time alone. Say, tonight, at 5 PM?"

The brunette girl frowned at Quistis' suggestion. "But if we all say no to Zell, won't he cancel?"

"So we won't say no. We just won't show."

Squall twirled the name-engraved chromed pen between his fingers, trying to make sense of the report before him. Either it was in a foreign language, or he read it upside down. But turning around hadn't helped and he was starting to wonder if maybe it was written in some sort of code.

He needed food, he concluded, and yet again he had missed lunch. Why was it so hard for him to remember to keep time?

He heard a knock on the door; at least he hoped he heard it this time. It wouldn't be the first time he'd called out enter, just have no one come in.

"Enter!"

The door did open and Quistis did step in. She held a box in her hands, neatly wrapped in blue metallic paper and with a large and overflowing silver bow. Little stars and hearts were drawn on it with a white maker. Obviously this was Selphie's work.

Squall frowned. Wait, it wasn't August was it?

"It's not for you, Squall. It's for Zell. Selphie had a little express fundraiser and bought this for him. Thought I'd come see you after I picked it up. You want to sign the card?"

"Whatever _(of course_)."

Quistis offered herself one of the visiting chairs, arranging herself pedantically, completely oblivious to Squall's stare.

"Yes?" He had to ask. There were a few things he could not tolerate under any circumstances in his office. One of them was being thoroughly ignored.

Quistis looked up, head tilted in question.

"What do you want?" Squall clarified, foot tapping underneath his desk.

"Oh, nothing important. I just wanted to know if you've talk to Zell today?"

Squall leant back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes _(I have, actually_)."

"Really? How did his mission go? Did he tell you why it took so long?"

Squall bit his lip in thought. Quistis wanted to know something, and it had nothing to do with Zell's mission. Question was; what was she fishing for?

"His services were needed for an extended period of time. Nothing serious."

"So there were a lot of monsters to deal with in Timber?"

"Among other things, yes."  
The blonde nodded, correcting her hair absently.

"Was that all you talked about?"

They hadn't talked about that at all. In fact, Zell's mission hadn't even come up as a topic.

"Why?"

She looked up then, meeting his gaze sternly. Squall playing stupid didn't work (or at least it hadn't worked, now he wasn't so sure) and Quistis playing coy wasn't working either.

"We heard Zell asked you to come to his Valentine's dinner."  
"And?"

"Funny, he should ask you first."

"I was the one he saw first."

Quistis smiled and crossed her legs.

"Why's that?"

Squall frowned deeper. "Why? Because last time I checked, I was his Commanding officer. I don't know if you know, but there's a little thing called protocol and not to mention professional courtesy which requires him to report to me."

Squall found himself drawing deeply for breath, feeling a type of winded he hadn't experienced in a long while with his jaws clenching together tightly, teeth almost creaking under the strain.

Quistis' smile grew lewd. "But he didn't have to ask you first. What if the rest of us said no?"

"Why would you?"

With an offended sneer, the blonde's smile vanished. "It's Valentine's Day. Just because you don't celebrate, doesn't mean we don't."

"So who would you celebrate with?"

"I'll have you know-!"

"Don't even bother arguing with me, Quistis. Valentine's always been a big group date."

"So you acknowledge that it's a date?"

Squall straightened, suddenly very cautious. This conversation - besides being most inappropriate and annoying - had become very strange. And very unnerving.

"Listen, I have no intentions of dating you, or Selphie or Rinoa or any other girl you could set me up with, so don't even bother."

There was a slight twitch at the corner of Quistis' mouth, and Squall couldn't figure out what he'd said to make her want to smile again.

"Relax, Squall. Selphie's courted by Irvine, Rinoa's not coming and I'm… not interested in you that way."

Why did Quistis keep insisting she didn't like Seifer when everyone already knew she did? Even Seifer himself. "And further more, I have no intention of setting you up with any girl. Remember that, Leonheart. No intentions at all."

After Quistis had gone, Squall sat staring at the wall. He tried to grasp the meaning of their conversation, but all he could find was bits and random pieces that didn't explain why the blonde had looked so content after leaving.

And why would she bring up 'dates'? Ok, technically he'd been the one to do that, but she had spun it further. So if Selphie was taken, and Rinoa wouldn't come, and Quistis… otherwise engaged, then what was she going on about…? Wait a minute.

Squall did a quick calculation. Weren't there only two girls coming? Two very not eligible girls?

_I have no intention of setting you up with any girl. Remember that, Leonhart._

Oh, shit!

She was setting him up with Zell? Well, he was kinda sure she wouldn't even consider pairing him with Seifer, even if she hadn't a personal interest in the blond. Bloodshed and bruises were far from romantic and for some reason, those two always followed any chance encounter Seifer and Squall had.

Squall felt his heart hammer in his chest, feeling crowded in an empty office, breath coming in shallow, uneven pants.

Why the hell was he panicking? He wouldn't fret like this if Quistis had dropped a hint about him hooking up with Selphie. Was it because Zell was a guy?

He tried a different approach while he regulated his breathing.

"Irvine", he said aloud, trying to convince himself. "She wants you to date Irvine."

Nothing.

He tried the same with Seifer but only got angry upon thinking of the blond.

Forcing his breathing to return to normal, Squall licked his suddenly dry lips. It was like mentally preparing for a mission.

"You can handle this, Leonhart. You're the Commander for Hyne's sake. You're a fighter, a leader… and you're totally asking your sister for help."

§§§

"Do you have any tangible evidence that Squall and Zell like each other? You know, beyond the friendship stuff?"

They had gathered in Selphie's dorm room, Seifer and Quistis on the cow-patterned sofa, with Irvine in an yellow armchair and Selphie pacing the floor space in-between.

Both girls were convinced now that there was something going on between the stoic brunette and the newly returned blond. And while Irvine believed no such thing, Seifer (although sceptic at first) was quickly warming up to the idea.

"They looked really cute when they danced."

"Yes, Selphie, that's the third time you mention that. But looking good together don't automatically make a couple."

"Well, you can't deny the fact that they were dancing, Irvine, and dancing together."

Quistis was adamant about this, and about any other topic he would have relented and let her have her way, because that's what instructors are for, but this was about something different altogether.

Because you didn't go around speculating about a guy's sexuality behind his back without strong, hard evidence to back it up. And you certainly didn't set two guys up for a night alone unless they'd given you reason - ever - to believe they were gay.

"I've danced with a lot of people in the past without being romantically interested in them. You have no solid foundation, girls."

"What about that time in D-District…?"

"Oh Hyne, Selph! The guy tripped! Maybe not the most graceful landing, I agree, but there was nothing more about it. Besides, if that had meant anything, don't you think they'd be fucking by now?"

The other three gave each other long looks.

"No, can't be. We would have seen something." Did Selphie really think that secrets couldn't elude her?

"And Squall would've been… you know, with Zell gone so long."

"You'd think they'd both still be locked in a room if that was the case."

Irvine just gawked at them in turn.  
"Damn you all to hell, you're not listening to me!"

"Why should we, Irvine? All that comes out of your mouth are insults and profanities."

Quistis actually glared at him, and that would definitely have made him back off - at another time.

"Why are you denying it so vehemently anyway", Seifer asked slowly, those aquamarine eyes like steel on Irvine. "You know something we don't?"

It might have taken the girls awhile to understand what Seifer was getting at, but Irvine caught on like a wildfire.

"Fuck you too, Seifer", he spat, rising to his feet. He wasn't completely sure why he was defending Squall and Zell's heterosexuality so strongly, but he was damn sure that he'd had enough of this.

"Good luck with you master plan", he growled. "Don't count on any help from me."

He wished Garden had normal doors so he could slam it, so he settled for slamming the button instead.

Selphie, Quistis and Seifer sat staring at the closing door.

"You think he'll tell?"

"Probably."

"That would ruin things."

"Definitely."

"We should do something."

Seifer stood, pulling on his trench coat, an evil grin spreading wide over his features.

"Just leave that to me."

§§§

Zell prepared the last of the marinade for the chicken and coated the fresh filets with the spicy mixture.

He was quite proud of himself for what he had accomplished so far. He had lemon sherbet frosting in the freezer, the appetizers ready on a platter. The main course would be chicken filets with pressed potatoes and his Ma's irresistible cream sauce.

He licked his lips and felt his stomach growl. It would have to wait for the others, but he snatched one of the appetizers anyway as he checked the time.

One hour, perfect.

§§§

Squall alternated his staring between Zell's welcome home gift and his own reflection. The former eluded him for the short message in one corner of the card, written in Selphie's hasty but readable handwriting.

'Forgive us now and thank us later.'

What was that about?

His reflection eluded him with not looking quite like he wanted it to.

He had quickly discarded the idea of wearing his leather pants. They were too 'everyday' to work for something like this, so he had been forced to choose from a pair of grey sweatpants and a pair of black tuxedo trousers his father had given him. It had come with a jacket, but Squall was so resolute on never wearing it, it might as well not exist.

He had reluctantly taken the black pants off the hangers and now stood feeling naked because they were too…airy.

But his shirt had been the biggest problem. All he kept thinking about was that last time he went 'casual', he'd worn that damned leopard-spotted t-shirt and he wanted that image permanently wiped away -erased, and GONE! - from everyone's minds.

A simple white tank top wouldn't work either, so it was a battle between the uncomfortable and itchy SeeD button-down shirt or a royal blue pique that had been a gift from matron a few years back in a desperate attempt to add more color to Squall's wardrobe.

It still had the tags on since he'd never worn it. Never had a reason to wear it.

He stubbornly tore the tags off and pealed on the shirt. It still fitted him pretty good, but he felt very awkward and wanted to put on his beloved leather jacket.

He stood twisting and turning in front of the mirror, trying to get a good look of himself and form a impartial opinion, failing horribly at both.

He cursed at himself for being so vain, only to fuss with the collar again.

Why was he trying to look good anyway? All these people knew him already. They'd seen him worse for wear and still wouldn't look down on him.

Sighing at his reflection, he drew a hand through his hair, messing up the resemblance of a hair-do he had managed. It wouldn't matter how his hair looked or what clothes he wore. He would still be Squall Leonhart, only much more uncomfortable.

So why was he making such a fuss? Why not just wear the leather pants he wanted? Why not the white tank top? Why was he going to the damned thing to begin with?

Well, it was rather simple.

It was difficult to spend Valentine's Day with the one you wanted to spend it with, if you turned down their invitation….

TBC

* * *

Oh, you're curious now, aren't you? Aside from the obvious, I decided to make a little fruit salad in this story. Not making any sense? Then let me explain: Lemon, Lime… Alright, not the classic ingredients in a fruit salad, but there you have it. I'm writing a lemon! In this very story /squeal/ It's my first published lemon, so…. Hang on, I haven't even gotten to that part. Maybe I should plead to your sensitive side once I get there, no? Well, now you've got to stick with me! LoL! 

Hugs, Z


	3. Chapter 3

Even though I'm not really satisfied with the response on the last chapter (only one review! One that made me very happy, but still only one!) I'm gonna post the next chapter so soon. I'm going away for a week, skiing in my absolute favorite winter resort and I'll of course be taking my notebook and a few pencils with me. Maybe my laptop, but that's kinda iffy with the strange behaviour it's been having of late. Ehm, my point was I'm gonna update so it won't take FOREVER before the next update. 

See how considerate I am...? Please return the favor?

Read and review, please. I do answer every review I get, you know

* * *

Chapter 3

It had started shortly after Halloween, a year ago. He'd had a talk with his sister about her butting in and transforming him and although he had been pretty pissed off at first - it was one of those things one had the right to be pissed off about, even someone like Squall - she had made a very valid point.

What harm had it done?

Besides everyone knowing about his rash, although that was a rather big thing that still bugged him, no real damage had really come of it. In fact, ever since, he'd seemed to become just a little closer to everyone. Even Seifer, although that only resulted in verbal abuse.

But especially Zell. He couldn't deny that he'd always liked Zell; it was just hard not to, no matter how much he annoyed you or made you want to rip your hair out with the roots.

And after that party they had simply gotten even closer, sharing moments together that wouldn't have happened before and Squall had found himself enjoying them.

He had thought it merely a deeper friendship, a more profound way of understanding one another, until Zell had been sent on that mission a few months ago and Squall had found himself helplessly missing the blond.

"Hyne, I'm so pathetic."

So that was why he'd panicked after Quistis' visit!

§§§

A sharp knock on the door made Zell jump, messing up the hair he'd been trying to spike. With an angry sigh he washed his hands free of wax, gel and mousse to open the door.

"Hey, Selph."

"Er… Hi, Zell." The petite brunette jumped from one foot to the other and kept looking nervously around. "I just wanted to drop off that CD I borrowed and the movie I thought you-, I mean, _we_ could watch."

Zell hesitantly grabbed the objects, frowning.

"Thanks, but you could have brought them later."

"Ha, ha", she blushed and stammered, eyes rolling wildly in their sockets and Zell just knew she was hiding something. "Well, while I remembered, you know. Uh, see you later!"

"Yeah, sure."

"And Zell, leave you hair down, you look good like that!"

Zell closed the door after Selphie had darted back down the corridor, eyebrow raised high. Selphie was acting mighty strange, and that was never a good thing.

Shrugging it off, Zell re-entered the bathroom where he commenced a long time staring at his messy tangle of blond hair. He sighed eventually and reached for a comb.

This was the second time he'd been told he looked good without his crest.

Maybe he should take a hint.

§§§

"I feel so guilty for standing him up like this. I mean, it's his first time back in months and it's Valentine's Day." Selphie moved restlessly on the sofa. She had just received a first class yelling for going over to Zell without discussing it with Quistis first. Even though she fully supported their current undertaking, she couldn't help feeling - well, besides guilty - annoyed at Quistis for pulling rank like she had and for having everything run through her for authorization. Like it was _her_ mission, or something.

"I still think it sucks that we can't at least eat the food! You girls probably don't know it, but Chickie is a pretty decent cook. Got stuck with him on a mission once, and he made tree bark edible."

Seifer sat sprawled on a chair, leisurely sipping his glass of Gin & Tonic.

"If all goes according to our plan, he'll thank us later. If it doesn't, well, we can cheer him up on your party tonight."

"Yeah, but if Squall shows, alone, and Irvine was right… Speaking of which, how did you deal with him, Seifer?"

The tall blonde smirked, greenish eyes sparkling with ill will. "He's having a dinner party of his own."

§

"EAT!"

"Fuu, he can't eat with the gag, ya know. And with how he's glaring and all, I'm not so sure we should be taking it off. We can wait until he gets tired of struggling against the cuffs, ya know."

Fuujin glared, spoonful of Jell-O quivering in her hand.

Irvine's muffled curses and promises of painful deaths were promptly ignored by his two watchers.

§

"You are so evil, Seifer."

"I know."

§§§

Squall felt utterly stupid standing alone outside Zell's door. He had hoped one of the others would have shown up at the same time, but after waiting for two minutes already and the fact that he was kind of late, Squall gave up and knocked.

He felt unsteady all of a sudden, vision blurred and his head spun nauseatingly as the door opened just in time for Zell to grab a steadying hold on Squall's shoulder.

"Hey, man. You alright?"

"Yeah." Squall straitened cautiously and offered a faint smile. "Sorry I'm late."

Zell released him, after patting his shoulder gently and returned to the kitchen. Taking some reassuring breaths, Squall placed the gift on an unmade dinner table and closed the door behind him.

"It's ok, really. None of the others has shown yet. Maybe we should just forget about-"

Zell turned from checking something in the oven and stared wide-eyed at Squall.  
"Wow! That color is really good on you. Matron was right."

"Thanks", Squall said, hoping that his heated cheeks weren't turning red. In the wake of the compliment, Squall searched Zell to offer something back. The blond was actually wearing the button-down SeeD shirt, but didn't look affected by it at all, together with a pair of black slacks. Squall noticed that Zell's hair was down, and that caught him by surprise. It wasn't the straight and carefully planned back slick he'd had on Halloween, but a slightly messier, natural version, which was very agreeable with him.

"Nice hair", he managed, although compliments and the like still tasted funny to him, judging by the thankful smile Zell gave him, he must know how to deliver them at least.

"It was Selphie's idea this time. And sort of yours, I suppose. She stopped by to drop off a movie before she went A.W.O.L. You wanna watch it while the food cooks? I must have misjudged the time a little. Here, have some appetizers."

Unsure what to answer - and to what - Squall automatically took the offered tray of tiny sandwiches and followed Zell to the living room. He took one, a toast with mayonnaise and shrimps, and ate it quickly.

Zell was already putting the bootlegged DVD into the player and gave Squall a quick and apologetic smile before offering a soda to the brunette.

"You want something to drink? I've got the fridge loaded and need some help with making space. I mean, I thought we'd be a few more… They didn't say anything to you, right? Of course not, then you wouldn't be here all by yourself, would you?" Squall accepted the soda, popping the cap with his thumb and watched Zell under chocolate bangs.

The martial artist looked at Squall as he leant against the wall. "You don't have to stay if the others are no shows. You don't have to stay at all."

Squall stared down at the appetizer in his hand. Did he want to leave?

The intro of the movie started and Squall felt relived that his own answer wouldn't be the only sound in the room.

"I'll stay", he said, not sounding very certain and not looking Zell in the eyes. "I've got the shirt on, right?"

Zell made some sort of snort, but it sounded amused, aside from the hurt that had showed in his eyes before, and the bitterness in his voice.  
"Yeah, wouldn't want it to go to waste."

§§§

Halfway into the movie, the egg timer went off in the kitchen and Zell bounded out of the sofa to turn it off. The chicken looked absolutely delicious and his mouth watered at the mere sight of it. Hyne, he was hungry!

He let it stay in the oven for a moment longer, but turned the heat off as he reached into the fridge for two sodas and returned to the movie.

Squall had lain down to his side, head resting against the armrest and appeared asleep. Zell had learned a while ago that thinking that Squall was sleep was not the same as the brunette actually being asleep, so he sat down on the other armrest and watched the movie again.

After another five minutes, Zell decided that he should remove the sherbet from the freezer so it wouldn't be too hard and setting the table would probably be a good idea. He had planned for a buffet, but when they were only two it seemed… unnecessary. And maybe he should open that bottle of wine he'd bought so it..?

"Hey, Squall? Doesn't that guy look an awful lot like Lag…?"

Squall was asleep, an adorable little pout on his lips to boot. Zell smiled, unable to feel anything but the slight tingle in his stomach.

"What a great guest you are, falling asleep on me like this", he jokingly scolded the sleeping Commander as he bent down and gently shook a dark blue shoulder. The touch lingered over the fabric, basking in the radiating heat of Squall's body. Zell wanted to move his hand away but it kept itself there on its own accord. It even stroked gently over the shoulder. When Squall made a soft mewling sound, Zell giggled and pulled away, a bright red staining his cheek. "And way to go making me feel guilty for waking you up."

Squall stirred, brought to awareness by his voice, roughly rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

"Hey there. I just wanted to tell you that dinner's ready. If you want?"

"Good, I'm famished."

Zell offered him a hand and hauled him to his feet.

"I'll just get some plates and stuff. Go sit down at the table. Take whichever chair you want."

He'd made small cards for the seating arrangements, but luckily had hadn't placed them on the table. It would have been so embarrassing if Squall saw how much work he'd put into this and then been stood up. He still felt bitter about it but he supposed it was natural.

He thought that everything was back to normal, that nothing had changed while he was gone, but apparently he'd been wrong. Maybe Selphie and Irvine wanted to do something on their own. And maybe Quistis had gotten brave enough to tell Seifer how she felt, although things hadn't seemed that way to him. But why hadn't they just told him that? Why leave him high and dry like this?

And what would he have done if Squall hadn't shown either, with food for six and no one to share it with?

"You need help?"

Squall stood in the doorway, leaning his head against the post.

"Nah, it's alright. You don't have to-"

"I wanna help. Just tell me what to do."

Zell's head tilted slightly to the side. Oh, he just had some weird déjà vu. Wasn't this the same kind of response he'd gotten last Halloween?

"Erm, you can take those plates, and the glasses."

Squall did as told, returning a while later empty handed.

"It looks really good, and smells good too."

"Thanks, it's Ma's recipe. I've never made it myself before, so I don't know how it tastes. Just how it should taste."

Squall smiled and reached over to snatch a part of the chicken.

"If it's horrible we can just smell it and eat the salad instead."

With a sincere laugh, Zell laid the finishing touches to the meal, putting the salt and pepper shakers in his pocket.

"It tastes great", Squall told him, slowly chewing the stolen piece. " Lucky you have so much of it."

Squall followed him into the living room, carrying the salad bowl and the dressing. Once they were seated, Zell offered the potatoes to his friend and Squall eagerly supplied himself with food, licking some sauce from the chicken off his fingers and grinned at Zell.

"You always cook this good?"

"I don't know. I like to think so."

"If you keep this up you may put the cafeteria ladies out of work."

Zell smiled faintly by pure habit, but his head was thinking of something completely different. He tilted his head slightly and caught Squall's eyes.

"Hey, Squall? Are you under that spell again?"

Stopping halfway to his mouth with a forkful of food, Squall stared at him.

It was almost answer enough for Zell, because if Squall hadn't been, he would have stood up and stormed out the room, the subject still a little too sensitive to talk about.

"Why do you ask?"

Oh, definitely.  
"Why, Squall? Why tonight?"

Putting the fork into his mouth, Squall bought himself some time. Zell waited patiently, not really sure how he should behave now that he was almost 100 certain. Was this good or bad news?

"It's Valentine's Day", was all Squall offered as an explanation.

§§§

The dinner had been eaten in almost complete silence, but Squall didn't mind. Or, at least not too much. He was too busy enjoying the meal to actually bother with any kind of conversation, although Zell looked more than a little bothered. He'd been draining the wine bottle almost all on his own, and he began looking a little tipsy.

He suspected he needed to offer the blond some sort of justification, because he had to know that Ellone wouldn't try to pull something like last Halloween behind his back again.

He put the cutlery aside, and began tearing small pieces of the paper napkin Zell had offered him. It made for great distraction and a reason not to look into eyes too blue.

"Squall?"

Apparently it was quite obvious he had something he wanted to share, and Zell sounded eager to hear it.

"I called sis."

It was all that was needed although it explained very little.

"Why?"

The tearing continued, although Squall's hands began to shake. He had never been at a loss for words, because whenever he found himself without a comeback, he used his favourite word. It wouldn't do now, though and on top of it all, he had the emotional overload that came with the crumbled walls that usually kept him protected.

"I… I don't know." His eyes flickered hastily over Zell, just scouting his reaction. True to his personality, Zell looked more intrigued than anything else, and a little confused. "I guess… No, I don't know."

"But you can't just have called Elle to have her place that spell on you again without giving her a very detailed explanation. I know her, and she wouldn't… Ok, maybe she did, but she wouldn't do it again. So what did you tell her?"

Squall tore a big piece off the napkin in a forceful pull. He really didn't want to talk about feelings, maybe that's why he always kept them bottled up and in check. Or tried to.

"I told her there was someone I needed to talk to without restriction."

"Who?"

Squall chuckled.

"I don't know. Who do you think? It wasn't like I called her back today, asking her to postpone the actual - what do you call it? - casting to 5 PM. She said it would take about an hour and I think she was right."

Zell, obviously still not catching on, frowned. Squall sighed and leant closer to the table.

"I wanted to talk to you, Zell. We being alone just means people won't overhear, and I won't tell them about stupid rashes again."

With a hand over his mouth, Zell fought to hold back laughter. "But it was damn funny."

"Yeah, I bet. Listen, this thing won't kick in for real for another half an hour. Sis says it's gradual both into it and out of it. So I'll still be somewhat me for a while longer. Could we just wait until…? Well, until I won't stumble over every second word I'm trying to say?"

The blond bit his lip, nodding very slowly. "There's just one thing I want to ask you; What are we talking about, so I can prepare notes."  
"Us. You and me."

§§§

It was almost on time for dessert when Squall suddenly giggled. Zell looked up, with an amused frown. They'd been discussing his mission in Timber and Zell had gotten to the part where he was forced to share a room with a drag queen from Esthar and how he had tried to get Zell to wear mascara to accentuate his eyelashes, which apparently was very long although too fair to be noticed.

"I'm sorry", Squall said between fits. "I just got the worst mental picture in history."

"Then I guess we're even with that rash of yours."

Squall gave him a beaming smile and the most intense look the brunette had ever given him. Zell's heart skipped a few beats, his lungs suddenly filling up with too much air to hold. He wasn't sure how stuff with the spell worked but he could tell it was different this time, and knowing there was magic involved made it very much more different when Squall had actively chosen to be put under a spell.  
Only to speak to him.

"You wanted to talk about something?" Zell asked cautiously, collecting their plates to simply have something to do.

Squall helped him, looking like the lost little puppy dog that Zell often wished he would be.

"Yeah."

Squall produced a shy blush and Zell found it adorable that his Commander was capable of such an endearing feature.

Zell loaded the sink with dirty dishes, all while Squall hovered like a ghost in the doorway. Deciding to give him some space to collect his thoughts, Zell turned to the fridge and the thawing sherbet.

"What do you think of me, Zell?"

The blond spun around, taken aback by the question. "What I think about you? How do you mean?"

"Just that, what do you think of me?"

Setting aside all thoughts of dessert, Zell turned to his friend.

"What kind of question is that? I think you're great, Squall. All of us do. I mean, shit… You're like everyone's role model around here."

"I meant you. What do _you_ think of me?"

The words stuck in Zell's throat, blocking his airway and clogging his blood. His teeth were grinding furiously against each other, trying to find something to say.

Suddenly Squall moved and turned off the overhead light in the kitchen. All that seeped in was the soft candlelight from the dinner table in the living room. The brunette moved closer, but without breaching the personal space.

"Be honest, Zell. I want nothing but the truth, but I want all of it."

Even with some distance between them, Zell felt Squall's presence like a moth felt a flame. He stepped forward, taking a bold risk but figuring it worth it.

"I like you, and I think you're amazing."

He could barely make out Squall's face in the twilight, but he was sure the Gunblader was smiling.

"You do?"

Well, that was a tone of voice he'd never heard the Commander use, clearly audible even over the loud thumping of his heart.

"Yeah. A lot."

This time Squall came a little closer.

"I like you too, Zell. A lot."

They stood there, staring into each other's eyes for a moment and Zell was so caught in the depth of those stormy grey eyes he knew so well that he almost flinched when Squall's fingers slowly interlaced with his own.

"I've wanted to tell you that for a while, but I wasn't sure. Not until you'd been gone for a month. I kept wanting to call you, just to make sure you were alright and I don't think I've ever been so glad at seeing someone's handwriting, no matter how sloppy it is."

"Hey", Zell protested half-heartedly, hand tightening around Squall's, but finding himself at a loss for words.

"Is that ok with you? Or… what?"

Zell smiled, hearing the uncertainty in a normally so commanding voice and decided to take a daring risk. He scooped into Squall's sphere and craned his neck slightly to barely touch noses with brunette.

"I'm a okay with it, baby."

There seemed to be a minute where time stood completely still until Squall tilted his head and moved in for a kiss. Zell almost pulled away until he realized that he wanted this and that Squall wanted this, no matter how fast things seemed to be moving for them.

Lips touched, briefly at first but electrifying. They pulled back, but not far, assessing their reactions. Zell licked his lips, feeling his bottom lip tingle and closed the distance between them again.

The kiss deepened, and both jumped when tongues suddenly made close encounter. Squall's free arm wound itself around Zell's waist to pull him closer and the martial artist let his other hand rake through messy chestnut strands.

When they finally pulled apart, Zell chuckled breathlessly.  
"I most definitely like that."

"Me too."

Zell grinned and turned towards the counter. "You want some dessert?"

"I thought I had that already."

"Hey man, this took me two hours to prepare, you can at least taste it."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

I know I said I'd be fast about this, but life's been hell (or close to anyway) for the past week (although my skiing vacation was great!) but now when it's easter and some nice R&R, I feel ready to put this up. I've made a FOURTH revision to it now, so I hope it's good. And yes, the rating has gone up. 

Noticed something else too, I haven't made a disclaimer to this story!I do not (nor have I ever or will ever) owe anything relating Final Fantasy 8, if you want it, go else where or do like me; Imagine!

Now, I want YOU, who reads this (not this part, but the part that comes below) to leave a review, and it's fine if it's just a short "good" or "bad" or something longer, if you don't mind. I just wanna know if I have a future in yaoi or not. Please.

* * *

They returned to the sofa and Zell restarted the movie, but after a few minutes and a couple of spoonfuls of ice cream, it was completely forgotten in favor of serious kissing.

Squall thought he could cut the tension with his gunblade, but it was nowhere near uncomfortable. Or maybe a little, a tendon in his neck was starting to strain under the assault of Zell's delicious lips, but instead of breaking away, he pushed forward, climbing over Zell who took the hint and lay back onto the sofa.

This was more intimate than Squall had planned, but he wasn't complaining. In fact, he hoped they would go further since his hands and lips could get enough. As if the blond could read his mind, Zell reached underneath the royal blue shirt and skated a hand across Squall's abdomen.

His whole body tensed, a half choked groan escaping him from the sheer unexpectedness. How could such a simple touch feel so incredibly erotic?

Zell, obviously misinterpreting his reaction, pulled his hand away and mumbled an apologetic 'sorry', surprisingly soft hands fidgeting with the collar of his shirt.

"No, keep going", Squall managed hoarsely. "I liked that."  
Resuming the kiss with renewed fervor, Squall took lead by buttoning up the crisp white shirt, kissing along Zell's neck as he continued down. The blond moaned, back arching into the caress as his hands moved to grab Squall's forearm with a fierce grip.

Encouraged by the response, Squall pushed the shirt apart, exposing a well-sculpted chest and two dusky pink nipples. Before he could find time to wuss out, Squall attacked, licking attentively at one nub.

The reaction was instantaneous as Zell hissed, hand fisting hard in Squall's hair and the throaty groan he produced made Squall hot all over.

Immediately as Squall stopped, Zell pushed him back as the blond sat up, grabbing a hold of the shirt and forced it over the brunette's head while Squall eagerly tried to divest Zell of his. Their eyes locked, passion dazed gazes drawing them closer again as hands started to wander, palms feeling skin always considered off limits, mouths claiming new territory and marking it as theirs.

Squall suddenly found his hands playing with the buckle of Zell's belt, half of him wanting to tear it out of the loops, half of him wondering if he was ready for what that would inevitably lead to.

Feeling his insecurity again, Zell made the decision for him. With a swift pull, Zell unbuckled it and tore the belt off, throwing it carelessly on the floor. As he went to unbutton the pants, Squall stopped him, only to kiss a trail down a taut stomach.

"Allow me", he said, barely recognizing his own voice.

With slightly trembling hands, Squall unbuttoned the slacks, the zipper following slowly. His heart was almost pounding out of his chest, mouth watering at the mere thought of what he was about to unveil.

"I'm getting naked faster than you", Zell panted, raking blunt fingernails down Squall's torso. "No fair."

Pushing himself up so they where sitting knees to knees on the sofa, Zell roughly undid Squall's pants, sliding them slowly down his hips.

Their eyes met again, an unfamiliar hunger visible there that they found themselves helpless to deny. With a wicked smirk, Squall's left hand disappeared down the front of black slacks, moaning in sync with Zell's high-pitched wail.

The blonds jaw was working furiously as he tried to form words, but Squall's strong grip wouldn't let him. Moving as evenly as he could in the restricted area, Squall licked teasingly over Zell's lips, the passionate response almost undoing him on the spot.

"Please", Zell whispered, grinding into the pleasuring touch. "Need you."  
Squall reluctantly released Zell, only to push the blond back down, straightening weak legs so he could sit between them. With excruciating slowness, the brunette began inching down the obscuring pants.

He almost chocked on his own saliva as Zell sprang free, accidentally biting his tongue in the process.  
Damn, but this was so far beyond his wildest imagination that it almost seemed surreal.

And that made him bolder.

Leaning down, Squall licked experimentally, Zell's head thrown back in all consuming pleasure. Oh, how he could get used to this alright. It seemed Zell could too, the way he allowed himself to be lost in the sensation, looking every bit the perfect sexual fantasy in the process.

"Zell", he whispered, mostly just to hear the name, to hear the affirmative groan, and to feel the encouraging hand, gently stroking his cheek.

"More." Zell seemed reduced to single word sentences, Squall's name coming out as a choked sob as the brunette complied.

It was so strange, giving a guy a blowjob like this. He wasn't new to the notion though, you had very little control over your dreams after all, but to finally perform one was - besides making him incredibly aroused - slightly nerve-racking and trained SeeD as he was, he treated it as any unplanned (though in no way unwelcome) event during any mission and became intently focused on what he had at hand. (A/N: God, what a useless pun!)

§§§

Zell's mind was a complete jumble of incoherent and unfinished thoughts. It seemed that each time Zell questioned the reality of the situation, Squall sucked harder, or swallowed more and each time Zell mumbled something that he swore were complete sentences but sounded like gasps and grunts to Squall.

He desperately wanted to do something, to be able to return the favor, but Squall wouldn't budge, or Zell had lost control of his muscles, because the brunette wasn't moving off and the satisfaction wouldn't stop. Not that he wanted it, though.

But even in a pleasure-induced stupor, Zell had doubts about the legitimacy of the situation. How much of this was Squall's true desires? If the Commander hadn't been under "the influence" - as the spell had affectionately come to be known in their circle of friends - would this take place? Was this what Squall really would want to happen? Well, obviously he did or he wouldn't do such wonderful things to Zell's body, spell or no spell, but would he want it to happen so soon? Did Zell want it to happen so soon?

A slow, wet lick and Squall put the answer in his mouth.

"Hell yeah."

TBC, very soon


	5. Chapter 5

The last three parts or something is unbetaed. I wanted to get this up NOW! You can thank my mother and her "study group" for this update. They're downstairs, being loud in the kitchen (they're the kind of study group that get together and BAKE of all things) and making any kind of TV-watching difficult. And also, my cat caught a mouse that she eagerly ate in clear view from the kitchen window, which put me off food for a while. I'll probably get hungry later, but by then this chapter will already be finished. 

Thank you, all of you, who reviewed the last chapter, you were more than kind! So I dedicate this chapter to **Lionfaq491**, **Sayiera**, **Rox** and **Caz** and hope all four of you will comment on the turn of events. Oh, put you on the spot now, didn't I!

**WARNING**: This contains YAOI, lemons, M/M slash, het and well… lots of talking. And I just learned that this will stretch a weeee bit longer than Valentine (hello, mid April, anyone?) and be at least two more chapter. Great…

* * *

Chapter 5

Deciding to put any negative thoughts away for later (Zell had never been much to think first and act later, since he'd obviously would miss out on many interesting things), the blond lost himself in the present and decided to participate a little more than he currently was.

After knowing these people as long as he had (although some things were easier to remember than others) Zell had them all pretty well figured out. Or he lived under the pretence that he did.

And one of the things he'd learned over the years was their pressure points. They had all been discovered very innocently, since being the resident martial artist with a demonstrated vicious grip also made you the preferred massage therapist.

Squall had one point just at the junction of his left neck and shoulder, one Zell knew for sure to be connected with the brunettes more private parts since Squall had faked sleep after he'd been given a massage and refused to roll over and he therefore attacked it ruthlessly now with his thumb, making Squall moan around him and sending the most heavenly shivers along his nervous system.

With Squall's ministrations never faltering in their intensity, no matter how much distraction Zell tried to force on him, the blond felt himself nearing his peak. His breath was coming in short and irregular puffs, his skin was flushed and heated, his limbs twitching uncontrollably but the outward signs of his arousal was nothing compared to the scalding fire raging in his groin.

Hyne, but he would not be able to withstand anymore of this sweet torture!

"Squall", he groaned and it seemed like the name was all the added aphrodisiac he could take before he let himself go.

His mind went blank, the time stopped and he felt suspended in air as immaculate euphoria washed over him in waves. He might have screamed, or the sound could have caught in his throat, but Zell didn't hear anything as his back arched and he squeezed his eyes shut.

He felt Squall move away, but kept working him with his hand, the touch softening in time with Zell.

It was like all the strength in his body had fled, even his eyelids were to heavy to lift. Squall shifted by his knees, not moving away but moving back.

He managed to crack an eye open, trying to focus on the dark shadow that loomed above him.

"Wow", he croaked, collecting himself slowly, and began to sit up.

He caught one glimpse of Squall's sweaty skin, the reddened pouting lips and the undisguised wanton desire in his eyes and Zell pounced. Even in his post-orgasmic bliss, Zell could relate to the wild need of completion and fulfilment that Squall craved and he'd be damned if he wouldn't give it to him.

"I'll have you know", Zell began huskily, surprising himself at how steady his voice was. "I never give as good as I get; I give better. Martial arts code of conduct."

Squall gave a needy sigh, pulling Zell down towards him. "I think I'll thank your grandfather for spurring you into martial arts", Squall whispered, vocal cords failing him. "But I don't think he'd meant it to be used for sex."

"Why not? They're both physical activities that require stamina, strength and… passion."

The way dusky grey stared into piercing blue, they came to a mutual agreement that talking was no longer required and that Zell should immediately put his mouth to much better use. Like, right now.

Knowing fully well how intensely Squall lusted, Zell wasted little time tugging down the pants just enough so he could gain better access, before he helped himself to the delicious feast sprawled before him.

The sound Squall produced could be called nothing less than a scream, followed by a sob and then a mewl that almost had Zell laughing. It was obvious Squall hadn't received oral attention like this in a while and by the way he was hyperventilating, almost tearing Zell's hair out, the blond wondered if he had ever been given head.

With a devilish grin, Zell made full use of both of his hands, deciding to up the ante a little bit. He wouldn't go too far, not when it felt like they were speeding past breakneck in the wrong lane with oncoming traffic, but just raising the stakes enough to ensure that Zell was serious about this and in it for more than just mutual suction.

§§§

Squall felt his body buck widely, but it was beyond his own control. What was being done to him in such an amazingly sexy way was often fantasized about, but never before fulfilled. At least not like this, not with the preferred partner himself, and not with a skill that must proceed way above natural talent.

The way Zell's hot tongue would sweep teasingly up his erection, just before sucking him all in to the hilt, warm moisture allowed to trickle down to his most intimate area.

He almost choked when he felt a finger softly slide over his opening without any warning. He shuddered and his mouth tried to form words but to no avail, possibly because Squall wasn't sure if he wanted to encourage this risky move or make Zell stop, because no matter how careful and sinfully distracting the fighter was, it still felt weird and uncomfortable.

"Ze-"

His breath hitched as the finger applied gentle pressure, rubbing into him without breaking through. Squall whimpered and tried to crawl away from the unexpected and unnerving contact and Zell immediately took notice and removed his finger, renewing his efforts on Squall's more demanding body part in a way of apology.

The brunette weaved his fingers into Zell's hair again, trying his hardest not to pull but new he did it anyway. He needed an anchor to keep him grounded or he feared he would elevate from the sofa and float away and Zell's soft tresses and the way they would tangle around his finger also made him painfully away of how real this was, since he could no longer keep a visual of the amazing blond by his legs.

With a strangled moan, Squall felt his toes curl. Oh, he was so close he was surprised he hadn't exploded yet. Zell was still working him with two hands, stimulating him to a state of frenzy. He knew he was saying something, but the words wouldn't reach his own ears, except for an incomprehensible murmur. He meant it to be encouraging, and a warning of his impending orgasm that he had no way of delaying any longer. Zell only sucked him deeper, massaged him harder and… hummed.

With a scream loud enough to breach thick walls and steel doors, Squall erupted in mindless ecstasy, his eyes wide open but blind to anything around him. He was struggling for air as his hips arched of the sofa, and he cried out again as Zell swallowed.

He collapsed in a boneless heap, feeling more than hearing Zell purr happily into his stomach. His body had never been this deliciously free of tension before, with every muscle reduced to wobbling jelly, and he didn't feel inclined to move just yet, and the blond at his waist seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

As he came back to his senses, his hand felt its way onto the sweat soaked skin of Zell's shoulder, feebly tugging the blond upward, to come and rest by his side. Zell complied slowly, his face adorably flushed as he smiled down at Squall, moisture still glistening on his chin. Without hesitation, the Commander pulled him down for a soft, unhurried kiss, more intense than their first but less passionate than their previous. And in some ways more intimate than anything that had happened just minutes before.

"If this is the reaction I get from my food, I think I'll consider cooking a little more often."

Squall smiled and nuzzled into Zell's neck, lazily throwing an arm over his new lover's waist.

"As long as you don't serve it to others, it's fine by me."

§§§

They spent the few hours before Selphie's big party lounging on the sofa, childishly entertaining themselves by dripping melted ice-cream in each others mouths in between lazy kisses and shy whispers of endearment.

Zell had almost forgotten the reason why their current intimacy had taken place, because Squall was acting very much like Squall, although in a very new and uncharacteristic setting. The brunette kept his voice low, his smiles no more than a tug at the corner of his mouth, eyes the cool and polished stones they always were but that was combined with a tender hand stroking Zell's still shirtless back, lips tracing every outline of his face and the words that escaped him was unlike any Zell had ever heard him speak before.

It wasn't until Squall gently pushed him off with a glance at the time, and proclaimed that the party started in thirty minutes and that they ought the get ready, that Zell remembered, clearly.

Squall never went to a party of his own - free- will.

Zell frowned at the wrinkled state his shirt was in, trying to shake it straight, but failed.

"Can't you iron it?" Squall asked innocently from his bathroom, helping himself to Zell's hair gel.

"I don't know how to iron! Selphie always does it for me, in return for helping her with the Festival Committee."

Squall emerged from the bathroom, hair now looking its usual perfect condition, with an amused raise of his eyebrows.

"Can't you ask her to do it then?"

"She's probably already at the Quad, and… I don't know, maybe she doesn't want me to…."

Squall's expression turned serious and he walked over to Zell, grabbing him rather harshly by his upper arms.

"Selphie's been your best friend since before either of us can recall. You remember what matron used to tell us, that the two of you could be twins, with how alike you were? She must've had a seriously good reason for not showing up tonight. Besides, she did buy you that gift."

"What gift?"

Squall suddenly blushed, a strained "heh", escaped him before he trotted over to the dinner table. He had placed the gift on one of the chairs while he'd set the table earlier, and then he'd forgotten all about it. He produced it almost shyly, handing it to Zell without meeting his eyes.

Zell tossed his shirt away carelessly and accepted it gingerly, but just as he began to tug at the bow, he changed is mind and his wild grin slipped away slowly. He put it aside on the coffee table, tilting his head at Squall.

"But why didn't she say anything? I mean, she stopped by right before… Hey, wait a minute! Do you think they were setting us up?"

With a casual shrug and with his face back to it's usual pale complexion, Squall walked over to the sofa, and sat down on the armrest. "It would undoubtedly be their style."

"Their?"

With his ears peaked with interest, Zell joined the brunette, slowly lowering himself to sit on the coffee table, pushing the gift aside to make space.

"Selphie, on her own, would never be able to keep it a secret. The fact that she was here before, shows it clearly. And the only other one I know that has a weakness for gossip and matchmaking is Quistis, who also happens to be a very qualified team leader."

"And Seifer? How did they manage to recruit him? Ask him to help you keep a secret and he'll yell it out to the world."

"Maybe, but he has been very accommodating with keeping his mouth shut about Halloween, don't you agree?"

Zell snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but that's coz he wants something from you. Although, maybe he wants something from Quistis too…" The blonde interrupted himself with a lewd smirk. "And I bet I know exactly what it is he wants."

"Well then", Squall said, a mischievous glint in his sparkling greyish eyes. "Maybe it's time we returned the favor, yeah?"

§§§

The party had been going on for about an hour and Selphie was beginning to freak out. The fact that she had no Irvine there to calm her down was dramatically apparent, and she wasn't sure how many more questions about his absence she could take. Quistis was displaying her usual calm and any attempt to rile her up was futile. The only one who seemed as agitated as Selphie, was -surprisingly- Seifer. He was positioned by the balcony door, the blood red punch (again, one of Zell's recipes) in the bowl beside him vanishing in an alarming pace. She made her way over the dance floor, stopped every so often by people who wanted to congratulate her on yet another amazing party. It made her smile, but did nothing to stop the fluttering of her heart.

Seifer looked up as she approached and gave her a quick and unconvincing smile.

"Bottoms up", she said, helping herself to a plastic cup of her own.

"Sorry to say it, Selph and it has nothing to do with your party, but this sucks."

"Yeah, I know."

They stood there for a moment, side by side, Selphie in a pink ballerina-like outfit and Seifer in pale jeans and black turtleneck.

"You think they've killed each other?" Selphie asked suddenly, eyes fixed on the entrance.

"Nah, either they're both sulking in their rooms, or….something else."

Another long silence.

"But you're not sure?"

"No."

Two cups of punch later.

"Wanna go make sure?"

"I'll be right behind you."

§§§

Quistis watched her two accomplices as they exited the Quad, a small smile playing on her lips. It was rather adorable to see Seifer acting so nervous. He would never admit it, but he'd fitted in better than he ever would have hoped and somewhere along the way, he and Zell had gotten, well, she supposed they could be called friends. And not just with Zell, all of them. The fact that he just left with Selphie (Quistis knew for a fact that there was nothing going on between them romantically) proved how comfortable he was around her as well. It had been strained after Ultimecia, between Seifer and Selphie. The young girl not only feeling responsible for something she could've done nothing about, but she had also been the one taking the loss of the tall blond the hardest. Not even Quistis, with her slight infatuation with Seifer, had cried as much as Selphie had. They had after all always acted like brother and sister.

She looked out over the crowd gathered, but not really seeing it. She didn't regret their mission tonight, not a single part of it, but she couldn't help feeling a little guilty. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she began to doubt that she was a hundred percent certain. Maybe just eighty-five percent.

Honestly, it was probably closer to fifty.

She had tried hard not to think about it, but with time came the doubts that she had caused a terminal rift between Squall and Zell and if that was the case, she would not be able to forgive herself.

After a few more moments of wallowing in insecurity, she followed Seifer and Selphie, running as fast as her black stiletto heels would allow her.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

I'm really sorry this has taken so long, I haven't had the dicipline or the desire to write anything lately. Ask me to explain why and you'll get no answer. 

Anyway, just turned off the fifth volume of Trigun, and now I wanna watch the sixth. #sigh# Which I don't have... But I do have DN Angel 3 and Kyo Kara Maoh 1, so I suppose I can manage until I have enough money to buy it.

I wanna send a special thank you to **limonada **and **dinkscythe **for reviewing. I didn't manage to send a review reply, but I want to acknowledge you somehow, so there you go! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

* * *

Chapter 6

"Are you done yet?" Squall asked impatiently and tapped his foot against the linoleum floor. Apparently, Zell was the only one in Garden who actually preferred the plastic carpeting to wooden floors. When confronted with it, Zell had excused himself by blaming splinters and difficult cleaning.

"Yeah", Zell called back. "In a minute!"

Squall sighed. "The same minute as 10 minutes ago?" he asked silently, roughly rubbing his temples.

Picking out a new shirt to wear should be an easy enough task, unless your name was Zell Dincht and you had serious color-coordination problems.

"Maybe I should just pick one out for you?" He had never had much patience with people to begin with, but Squall had found a rather effective cure for that; Don't talk to them and they won't talk to you.

It worked, most of the time, unless he was dealing with Selphie, Zell or his father.

"Fine!"

He opened the door to Zell's bedroom and eyed it carefully. He'd never spent much time in any guy's bedroom, least of all Zell's, and it was with a curious fascination that he took this new experience in. It was clean enough to avoid being messy, but fell short of being neat.

"Sorry for the mess", Zell said absently and didn't sound the least bit sorry, only offering the phrase out of courtesy. He hadn't turned from his closet, staring into it like it was a SeeD-exam.

How much clothes could he have to choose from anyway?

When he joined Zell's side, he got his answer.

Apparently, some people actually used their closet space for clothes and clothes alone. Squall's was his storage room for unwanted and (for the most part) unnecessary things, because _his _wardrobe consisted of enough clothes to hang over a chair. At least those he wanted to wear.

"Oh", was all he could think of to say and Zell gave him a questioning look.

"Don't like what you see?"

"No, it's not…. I mean, yes, I…" He groaned. "Only Yes or No questions, please."

Zell grinned and elbowed Squall roughly in the side. It did hurt, but the brunette had learned long ago that no matter how aware Zell was of his own strength, he would still be stronger than most people and therefore just a touch rougher.

An excited shiver ran through him at the wording and a fierce blush colored his cheeks. Luckily, Zell's closet held all of the blond's attention and Squall quickly stored away the dirty thoughts where he could find them later and cleared his throat.

"What about that green shirt?" He pointed absently at the jade colored short-sleeved shirt hanging right in his field of vision.  
"Yeah? Selphie says it's Seifer's color. But then again she also said I'd look good in red, cos of my skin pigments and stuff, but I don't think it goes well with… my eyes…."

Zell's face took on the aforementioned color, eyes going wide as he realized what he'd said. "Eh, I meant… Hmm."

Squall only smiled, running a hand over a multicoloured Hawaii shirt - in silk.

"I know what you meant", he assured. "And I agree. With Selphie. She was debating it with me when we visited Esthar once and she did have a point about it going well with your skin tone, at least in the summer."

The shocked look that the blond gave him made him sigh heavily in played boredom. "Maybe now you understand why I stick to black and white. It's difficult to mismatch."

"I just didn't think you had an eye for that stuff." Zell leaned forward and stole a chaste peck on his cheek. "Now, I'm choosing from this t-shirt and that black knitted thing."

§§§

"Do you think we should check Zell's room first?"

Selphie was all but clinging to Seifer's arm as they made way through the corridor, leaving the soft romantic music behind. Seifer's strides were long and determined and Selphie was having a hard time keeping up, already panting form the fast pace.  
"No", Seifer said, voice taking on a strange edge. "We go to Squall first. If he's there, then we can beat the shit out of him before going to see Zell and…"

"Apologize?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"Shouldn't we apologize to Squall too?" Quistis had managed to catch up with them, running barefoot with her shoes dangling from her hand and her question caught them off guard and Seifer missed a step, almost tripping over his dark-haired partner in crime. "Why would I ever apologize to that prick! He's-!"

Quistis' stern gaze shut him up like a gunshot and he settled for a glare.

"I think that if things didn't go as we planned, we're responsible for a problem between the two and it's not like Squall asked for our intervention." They both stared at her dumbly so Quistis sighed. "You mentioned something about Squall's room?"  
Selphie and Quistis had to run to keep up with Seifer and by the time they stopped outside Squall's door, they were all short of breath.

"Alright, knock the door, Selphie."

"I'm not knocking on no door! Quistis, you do it."

"You two are such babies."

Quistis stepped up to the door and only hesitated long enough to hiss a sharp "cowards!" at her friends before knocking rapidly. They stood waiting breathlessly, and let out a unanimous sigh as no one opened.

"Try again", Seifer instructed, nudging Quistis in the side.

"You try again!"  
"There's no on in there, guys." Selphie gently pulled on Quistis arm to get her attention. The last thing they needed was to get on each others nerves. "Maybe he's in his office? You know how he despises Valentine's Day."

Seifer scratched his head, like he'd find an answer up there.

"Yeah, but work? Not even Leonheart's that much of a workaholic."

Selphie suddenly spun around, a new determination in her eyes. "Well, it can't hurt to look, can it? Now, hurry, we have some damage control to do."

She took off in a blur of pink and the two blondes that she left behind gave each other a bewildered look before tailing after her.

When they arrived outside of Squall's office door, Seifer had an odd déjà vu from last Halloween. He remembered standing there, waiting for someone to open the Hyne-forsaken door and waiting in vain. He'd been almost as inclined to kick Squall's ass that time, as he was now.

_That prick is about as sensitive as a….. something insensitive. I bet all that came out of his mouth when little chickie confessed, was "_whatever".

They all nearly jumped as the door opened, revealing a rather dishevelled-looking Commander, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Yes?"

"Err, are you ok?" Seifer tried to sneak a peak over Squall's head, but the door had only opened enough to reveal Squall's mussed head and crooked collar and there was nothing behind him except dull-colored wall and a ugly picture of some former Headmaster that was apparently walled in and impossible to remove.

How thoughtful of the old geezer.

"Of course", Squall replied, still looking at them funny and kept fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. A rather nice-looking shirt at that. "Why?" he asked, tilting his head in that way he had since he'd been five. It still worked for him, though. Probably why the bastard was Headmaster and Seifer still struggling to remain a SeeD.

"We just thought, you know, about Zell's dinner…?" Selphie had piped up, her eyes like a dear in headlights and that, luckily, worked for her too.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Did you go?" Quistis, with her miniskirt and leather whip, had no cute little feature that made people take pity on her and if she ever had one, she'd gotten rid of it a long time ago.

"Yes, and you didn't ."

The three accomplices looked guiltily at each other, and Seifer felt a hint of a blush.

"You noticed that, huh?"

"You're not exactly invisible, Seifer", Squall pointed out. "And Selphie's not quiet while Quistis isn't…." Squall gave the latter a closer look and frowned. "Unnoticeable. Your absence was very obvious."

"Was Zell very mad?" Again, Selphie and her puppy dog whimper.

"Was?" Squall briefly looked down at his socked feet. That he was shoeless hadn't occurred to Seifer before, and it apparently Squall hadn't noticed either because he uttered a perplexed "hmm" at the sight of the Shiva-pattern before he continued. "I don't think he's gotten over it."

"But you gave him the gift, right? Tell me you remembered, Squall!"

"I remembered", Squall said indignantly, but Seifer thought he heard an added "eventually" under his breath. "Was there something else you wanted?"

Seifer glanced at Quistis over Selphie's head and shrugged.

"No, Squall", the blonde instructor said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. So maybe she had her little feature. "We just wanted to make sure you weren't perishing away in your office all by yourself."

Or maybe not.

"Thanks, Quistis. Your kindness overwhelms me. Now go away!"

The door swished shut, leaving the three of them standing at a loss outside.

"That went well." Seifer said, serious. He had had many conversations with Squall in the past, but none had proceeded as smoothly as that. "He didn't even glare, until the end there."

"_Well_?" Selphie asked, incredulously. "You think that went well? Did you hear what he was saying? Zell's mad at us, and probably at Squall too, and we're totally to blame here!"

"Selphie, if you calm down…."

"No, Quistis, I'm not gonna calm down. If it wasn't for your brilliant plan, they wouldn't be fighting, and Zell wouldn't be mad at us and….and Irvine wouldn't be tied up to a chair with Seifer's posse-"

"Probably enjoying himself, Raijin has this great Cid-impersonation-"

"-and I wouldn't be standing here feeling like the biggest ass in history!" She fell silent, panting heavily and stared into to the hard, grey floor. "I'm going to bed", she added meekly and all but ran back to her dorm.

Seifer and Quistis stood staring after her, again, much like they had before, only this time they didn't follow.

"She's right", Quistis said, sounding more regretful that Seifer had ever heard before. "It's all my fault."

"Your fault what?"

She looked up. "Selphie was right about that too, where you even listening? Zell obviously wants nothing to do with us at the moment, Squall was acting….odd, if I may be so vague. And now Selphie's mad at me too and…."

She was beginning to choke up, so Seifer laid an around her shoulders and gave her a friendly squeeze.

"Listen, this is not your fault. Hell, we don't even know what the hell is going on here! Squall didn't get into any details about what had happened between them and for all we know, that little brat could be in there with him right now. Yes, highly unlikely, but possible. That means your mission was a success. You should hold on to your self-pity until we know the whole story. Maybe we should check on Zell first, before we conclude anything."

Quistis nodded, straightening herself and forcibly wiped away any tears that she had refused to shed.

"Right, let's go."

"After you, ma'am."

§§§

_On the other side of the door._

"Damn, you think they're on to us?"

Zell emerged from under Squall's desk and walked over to his Commander-turned-boyfriend-in-a-matter-of-hours. Squall shrugged.

"Probably not, he was just making her feel better."

"Yeah", Zell frowned and worried his bottom lip with sharp teeth. "Selphie was really upset, wasn't she?"

"Mind on the mission!" Squall said, grabbing a hold of Zell's shoulders. "This is the means to an end, remember. Let her sweat for bit, it'll do her good. And it's even better that you're not in your room. Knowing your nature, you'd probably let them in after a few minutes of pleading."

A deep frowned broke Zell's usually smooth forehead.

"Gee, Squall. Thanks."

Zell broke free of the tight grip and walked over to the window. Problem with careless and untroubled Squall was not only was he showing emotions, he was being upfront with you. Blunt, even.

He heard Squall sigh behind him and the soft footfalls as he approached him. Zell had always been proud of his keen hearing, but sometimes what you didn't hear was saying more.

"You know what I mean, Zell."  
"Yeah, I do." He stared hard at the tree standing down in the field they'd landed in. It looked as lonely as Zell felt. " You know, maybe I liked you better when you weren't talking so much because the chances of you saying something hurtful were very low. At least then I knew you couldn't phrase it any other way."

He could see Squall's reflection in the window, could see him eyeing the back of Zell's head.

"I don't have training in being tactful, Zell. Not when dealing with people. Maybe it worked better when I, as you say, wasn't talking so much. I'm sorry if I offended you, but you _are _prone to surrender to your friends. You …. care about them, right? It's just natural that you should. But they've been gambling with your feelings, with my feelings, and it's not the first time. We're not doing this…" He emphasized his meaning by gently stroking down Zell's arm. "…for their enjoyment. This place sees more drama then I care for, they don't need to drag us into that. This is our business."

Zell pursed his lips, trying hard to find some sort of retaliation except for agreement. He knew Squall was right, but he had just scolded him for being insensitive towards him, it wouldn't do to just change his mind when he was trying to make a point. So he decided to be blunt too.

"Alright, so you're not like Fuujin. Should I get used to that, or are you getting back to "normal" once the spell's gone and one-sentence-Squall is what I'm dealing with? It may look easy to you, because you're you to you, you know? To me, you're a stranger that looks like the guy I've had a crush on for almost a year. You have to understand that this is confusing to me and I don't know who you're gonna be in the morning."

Squall had backed away a bit, face blank and he almost looked like he always did.

"I'm not a stranger. This is who I am when no one else is around. I thought this was the guy all of you wanted out and now you don't like him?"

"I didn't say I didn't like you, Squall. Did you miss that part about having a crush on you?"

"You fooled me."

Zell suddenly laughed, the amusement bitter, but amusing no less.

"Never thought I'd have this kind of conversation with you." He stood straight and took a deep breath while looking Squall evenly in the eyes. "I just need to get to know this part of you a little better, you know. Just like you need to learn how to be a little considerate about how people perceive you."

Squall just stood looking at him for a moment, before tilting his head. "You sure you're not under some kind of spell too?"

"Fairly certain, why?"

"Because you're using words….a little out of your "normal" league."

"Just because one of us has to be the grown up here. I wasn't the one playing tag on the way over here. Your hair's a mess."

It was typical Zell thing to do, noticing people's hair.

"That would explain why you were always it…."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Oh man, late again! I know I was gonna post something before I went away on vacation (fucking awesome vacation at that, and I cussed!) but that didn't happen, and even though I did write a lot while I was away, I haven't had the...desire to type anything down. And now I've started working again... But I'll try harder! 

This is chapter 7, and from the looks of it, this will be a wee bit longer than MoH. And I might throw in another lemon soon. Like next chapter... At least I wrote one, I'm not sure I'll use it. Stick around and find out.

Thank you everyone for your reviews. I love you so much!

* * *

Seifer wandered down the hallways alone after Quistis had left him to "repair" herself, as she had put it, before she returned to the party. Seifer translated it to going to her room and bawling for a few minutes. Seifer didn't need to freshen up, or shed some tears, but he wasn't feeling in the mood for a party right now either so he took a swing past Zell's room.

As he approached the blond fighter's door, he vowed never to drink that much in such a short time, or get involved in Selphie's and Quistis' plans ever again. It was bad enough to know that he'd be nauseous come morning, but feeling bad for Chicken Wuss? No, he had to draw the line somewhere.

He half expected to run into Selphie at Zell's door, even after her outlet and declaration of early retirement, but once he stopped in front of it, he was alone.

That was good, he figured, then there wouldn't be anyone there to recite the words back at him.

He knocked on the door, trying to make it sound gentle, even though it required quite a bit of effort to make it audible on the other side. " Zell?" he called and silently added "Chicken" so he wouldn't feel quite so pathetic.

"Are you in there?"

He waited a full five seconds before knocking again, more forcefully this time. "Hey, open up, Chickie!"

Still nothing.

"Suppose that means you're not in there." He sighed and sat down with his back against the door. He had come to say _something_ and he wouldn't leave until it was said, even if Zell wasn't listening. "But it doesn't matter, I'll say it anyway."

Double pathetic.

"This wasn't my idea. Not completely anyway, but I think you know that. I usually don't involve myself with Squall unless I have to but those girls can really be convincing. Should've listened to Irvine… Regardless of which, this wasn't the outcome we where hoping for, obviously. It's just that you and that…." Seifer chuckled mirthlessly. "I mean, you and Squall have always had this thing, you know, where he lets you off saying things that the rest of us would get a glare and the silent treatment for. And although puberty boy's never been much for favouritism, I think he's making an exception in your case. Common sense and Garden regulations, be damned."

He banged his head against the steel door a few times, to shake things loose and clear it up a little.

"I guess that what I'm trying to say is that I just want you guys to be happy." He snorted and grinned widely.

_Congratulations Seifer, you just made an ass of yourself! If I ever catch you pulling stupid stunts like this one again, I'll fucking kill you. I mean, come on! What kind of sappy fuck are you, sitting here wishing luck and prosperity on everyone? Get your ass up off the floor and get back to your room. You better pray that you don't remember this in the morning!_

So deep into his self-scolding, Seifer didn't notice how the security camera turned to fix on him.

§§§

Zell pulled away from Squall where he was straddling him in his office-chair, nibbling at his kiss-bruised lips and smirked. With a tentative hand, he reached out and let his fingers weave through Squall's hair. Being in his living room had been one thing, but making out it Squall's office was entirely different.

Frickin' awesome, but different.

"What?" Squall asked softly, leaning into the touch like a cat.

"Nothing, just looking at you."

Squall batted his hand away and adopted an obviously fake stern look. "Don't. It feels weird and it's such a cliché."

With a smile, Zell planted a kiss on his boyfriend's forehead.

"How long are you planning on keeping me hostage in here?"

The brunette looked up and that vacant, familiar expression returned. "There's nothing stopping you from leaving", he said, voice taking on a terse edge and Zell couldn't help but chuckle and caressed Squall's cheek with his knuckles.

"You know there is."

Their eyes locked and to Zell's pleasant surprise, Squall didn't avert his eyes right away. The Commander had always had issues with eye contact, unless he was pissed and Zell found himself blushing and looking away.

_Hyne, everything is so different about him now! I can't believe this person exists inside Squall. I mean, in the years we've known him, shouldn't we have seen at least seen a glimpse of him? Well, we kinda did on that Halloween-party, but then I wasn't dating him. Gods, is that what we're doing? We haven't talked about this at all, but I keep referring to him as my boyfriend, and that's like the same thing, right? Have his eyes always been that clear and intense before? If you don't count that time with the ice hole… no, never seen it. And what the hell is Seifer doing, camping outside my dorm?_

"Hey", Zell exclaimed and stood up, walking over to the TV-monitors. "That's my hallway, right?"  
Squall threw a quick glance over his shoulder to get a look at the monitor that Zell was looking at.

"Yes." He eyes Zell warily. "But I didn't put them there, security did…."

Zell shushed him with a gesture, but not before giving him a glare. "That's not what I meant."

The image changed to another hallway, this one empty.

"Wait! How do you make it go back? Squall!"

The brunette was by his side, pushing a few buttons. Seifer returned, sitting sprawled on the floor, obviously talking to himself.

"He's probably drunk."

"Probably. Can you get sound?"

Squall looked at him sceptically. "Zell." He warned as his finger hovered over the audio-button. Seifer was never one for kind words and his vocabulary underwent a remarkable transformation from lucid and articulate to guttural and foul whenever he had been drinking a lot.

"Come on, Squall. Please?"

Being grazed with naturally clear blue eyes, Zell never had to put in an effort to get that pleading look in his eyes. His mother had once told him that his eyes was the reason she decided to take him from the orphanage as it was the excuse that she almost chose someone else. That someone else had turned out to be Seifer but Zell had made pact with his mother to never mention that little fact to the blond gunblader.

He smiled as Squall voiced a curse breathlessly and soon static was streaming out of the speakers. Seifer's voice was heard under the noise:

"… _to be happy."_

He silenced and they heard something that was either sobs or chuckles.

"_Yeah, now I know you're not in there, coz that would have had you howling with laughter. Well, like I said, it doesn't matter." _

There was a pause and the buzz that followed seemed almost deafening. Zell was wondering what the hell Seifer was up to, talking like that if he knew no one was listening.

"_So I guess I'm trying to say that I'm sorry."_ Both Zell and Squall gasped at that revelation. "_For all this shit and that you guys should really figure this out. You're, you know, good together or whatever."_

The heavy sigh that followed was heard over the static.

"He's crazy", Squall voiced aloud, staring utterly perplexed at the small TV-Seifer. "Completely mental."

Zell resisted the urge to smack Squall over the head. He doubted the brunette had ever had a conversation with an unwilling and/or unresponsive partner, unlike the rest of them who had plenty of experience.

"_Anyway"_, Seifer continued. "_I should go back to the party, they might have refilled the punchbowl. Yeah, and Chickie? Don't be so hard on the girls, they really only wanted you guys together. Be extra careful with Selphie. You can expect a long time of repentance from her in the future." _

Seifer got to his feet, surprisingly nimble and headed down the hallway, away from the camera. He was muttering something to himself but just before he disappeared from view, he straightened himself and stretched his neck. Whatever phase Seifer had gone through, it was over now.

Squall and Zell stood silent for a moment, staring at the screen.

"That was….interesting", Squall stated calmly and turned to Zell to gauge his reaction. "What do you make of it?"

Zell was slowly shaking his head. "This whole damn place is under a spell", he whispered and when he turned to Squall his eyes wasn't pleading, or adoring or even respectful.

They were demanding.

"I'm gonna go talk to my friends, whatever you say."

"Even Seifer?"

"Especially Seifer. You coming or not?"

§§§

Selphie came up from underneath her covers, eyes red and swollen. She wasn't sure how long she'd been lying there in bed, but it felt like a long time. A glance at the time showed her that only thirty minutes had passed since she stormed into her room and snuggled in under her blankets, crying. She let out a resigned sigh and climbed out of bed. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and could help but laugh helplessly. Her hair was a mess, her make-up smeared and her face puffy. The dress that she had spent weeks upon weeks on making was wrinkled and in post-desperation clarity, she even noticed a little smudge of chocolate on the skirt.

She took a brush from her vanity and roughly pulled it through her hair, pulling it back in a simple ponytail before she cleaned her face of her poor Picasso-imitation. Quickly redressing in loose jeans and a gigantic hooded sweatshirt that belonged to Irvine, she went to find some ice cream in her freezer.

She only managed lay a hand on the handle when there was a knock on the door. She didn't feel like company, but it could be Zell and the least she owed him now was listening to him.

It wasn't Zell.

"Irvine!"

She practically threw herself around his neck, tears welling up in her eyes again. She knew she was being overly emotional, but that was her thing. As easy as she could offer a smile, as easily she could shed a tear and right now, emotions was running high and low and left as right and she didn't know what to do with herself.

"Hey, there", she heard him say, strong arms wound around her waist, holding her up.

"I'm so sorry", she whimpered, breathing in heavily of his musky scent. It was fierce and masculine, just like him.

He put her down, lightly prying her off him and grabbed her chin to make her look at him.

"As you should be. I don't know how Seifer do it, but Raijin and Fuujin are not to be messed with."

She smiled between her tears, as Irvine gently wiped them away. "We should have listened to you."

"Yeah, and in in the future you might. But no harm, no foul, right?"

She frowned and sniffled.

"Didn't Seifer tell you? We totally failed! Zell hates us now and… and…"

Irvine raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely surprised. "It didn't work? Then why was Zell and Squall… ? You know what, never mind. Look, it's Valentine's Day and I think that we've spent enough of it apart. Let's go check out the Quad. I never got the chance to see it."

"But…" The smile on Irvine's face and the gleam in his eye had Selphie relenting. "I'm not dressed properly."

Irvine stepped back to look her over.

"Breast and butt covered, I say you are properly dressed."

She laughed and smacked him over the arm. Well, what did it matter anyway? By now everyone would be so caught up with each other that no one would think twice of her change of wardrobe and her lack of surgically applied facial paint.

"Alright, let's go."

"And sweetie, don't worry about it, ok? Zell can't be mad at you, you know that. You guys are as thick as thieves and I doubt anything, not even me could come between you."

Her lower lip was still pouting, but Irvine gave her a quick kiss and then that was gone too.

"Now come on, I need to go dancing. I've been literally tied up all day."

"Was it very awful?"

"After they stopped force-feeding me Jell-O, things got rather entertaining, actually. Fuu is really good at charades, I suppose she kinda has to be, and Raijin, besides being a big buffoon, can really throw his voice."

§§§

Squall peeked around the corner, holding Zell back and out of view. Their unplanned run in with Irvine had been unfortunate, since anything involving Selphie always included the sharpshooter, but he hadn't said anything and only eyed them suspiciously, because they eyed him suspiciously first.

"I don't think he knew anything, Squall. Stop being paranoid."

"What? I'm always paranoid. I'm usually better at hiding it, though."

Zell chuckled behind him and pushed him out into the hallway. "Come on, let's go. We know Seifer went to the Quad, we talk to him first, get the details out and then we… I talk to Selphie."

Squall frowned and looked at the blond over his shoulder.

"I can't come?"

"Listen, Squall. I know she owes you an apology too, but let me talk to her alone first, alright?"

Squall sulked for a minute, figuring it was his right to be there, but Zell had a point. The fighter had always been close to Selphie and the brunette figured he might not be all that… angry with her either. In fact, she had done him an enormous favour and maybe she shouldn't so much apologize as he should thank her.

Well, he could do that _after_ she apologized.

"Happy Valentine's Day, by the way", Zell said suddenly. "With all that's happened, I've kinda forgotten…"

Squall couldn't deny himself the smile. Hyne, but Zell could be so adorable!

He turned and pulled him in for a kiss before he caught himself being in a public place and where underage kids with an unprecedented curiosity would run amuck in the hallways for the smallest sound. Zell seemed to be thinking along the same line, but it was with an ill concealed smile that he continued towards the Quad. Squall scolded his unchecked hormones all the while getting an eyeful of Zell's ass. After a few more minutes of wanton staring, Squall sighed and jogged to in step with the blond.

Being in lust was seriously damaging to his reputation.

The Quad looked surprisingly good, even Squall could admit that. The heart-shaped balloons, lavender-scented candles and the chocolate-covered strawberries may not be his favourite things to decorate with, but they worked for a setting like this.

To his shame, he realized how unromantic he was. Not that he'd dated much anyway, but thinking on it now showed him how little he knew of how to woo and court _anyone._ Asking Irvine could've been one solution, if he hadn't thought the mere question would give the cowboy a heart attack, but he wasn't all that certain that wooing a girl was anything like wooing Zell. Although, the sharpshooter _had_ managed to keep Selphie in one place long enough to manage it.

Squall straightened, suddenly self-conscious, as two instructors walked past him with curt smiles. He had to remind himself all the time that this wasn't his kind of thing and that he was supposed to look stoic. It proved really heard when he kept wanting to dance.

He still shuddered at the memory of his last dance. It wasn't all entirely bad, he did remember enjoying himself quite a lot, but that tended to be overshadowed by the embarrassment of his outfit. Seriously, he should have gotten a lobotomy for that!

Thankfully, Zell pulled him out of his thoughts by none too gently tugging at his arm. "I see Seifer over there, come on."

The brunette refrained from commenting that it was the first time he had ever seen the fighter eager to see Seifer and simply followed behind, without a second thought as to how it might look from a distance, his wrist in a tight grip from Zell's hand.

The tall blond stood swaying dangerously close to a flight of stairs, a large cup of shocking pink punch in his hand, swaying off-beat to the music.

"I thought Quistis said he could dance." Squall stated aloud over the music. Zell only smiled and kept pulling him along, still without protest.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

This has been a really arduous journey for me, but here's chapter 8. I promised some boring talk, and here you have it! 

I've also decided to add a little lemon to the next chapter, just to warn you. Though the pairing is still up for debate, I think it's time things sped up a little. I can't keep writing this until it's Valentine again. Hell, it's almost Halloween. I have to finish before then!

Still no times, I hope you can bare without. Not that they mattered much, I just thought they were a nice "24" kind of touch. Alright, here you go. And Lionfaq491, I've been waiting on your review, I didn't get one... (pouts)

* * *

"Seifer?"

The tall blond slowly turned to look at them with eyes unfocused and glazed. There was something childishly adorable about his mimicry that Zell couldn't help but smile at.

"Oh." Seifer's voice had gone from deep and seductive to high-pitched and squeaky and he seemed to realize it himself but unable to do anything about it, because he continued equally off-key. "It's you!"

"Depends on who you think I am, doesn't it?"

Seifer squinted at Zell, peering hard. "You're Chickie", he said resolutely. "And that's", he pointed at Squall and frowned. "I seemed to have misplaced your name."

"Fuck off, Seifer."

"Right, Squall." Seifer seemed pleased with himself, looking at them both with a stupid grin on his face. And then it slowly faded. "Wait a minute", he slurred.

"You've got some explaining to do, Almasy."

"Wait, that's Squall?"

Zell sighed patiently and nodded. " Yes, you said so yourself."

The bewildered look spread like a wildfire all over his face, expression changing between a deep frown and raised eyebrows.

And then he smiled.

"Ah, I get it now. Nice show you pulled off back at the office. I knew things went too smoothly. So you guys are a thing now?"

Zell blushed despite of himself. He hadn't really expected to be able to keep their re-defined relationship a secret from his friends, but without proper preparation and rehearsing, he felt very uncomfortable talking about it.

"None of your business, Seifer", Squall interjected, glaring menacingly at the other gunblader. "That's why we're in this mess, isn't it?"

Apparently there was a flaw in the brunettes threatening appearance, because instead of 'honourably declining a fight', as he so eloquently put it, Seifer's smirk turned lewd. "Whatta ya know", he retorted, his voice back to the pleasant baritone although it was contaminated with an annoying taunting undertone. "Kitten's got claws."

Squall seemed as surprised by the comment as Zell was. How was Squall's response any different from last week? Or last year for that matter?

Seifer laughed heartily. "Oh please!", he exclaimed, just a decibel too high. "I know you guys better than you'd approve of. The way the two of you interact, is like…. Something obvious." Seifer had never been good with similes. "But you've always acted so professionally around me coz you know I can tell if there's more."

"Is that why you agreed to help Selphie?"

"And if it was my idea?"

Even with all that had happened, not just today, but years ago in the past and all that had happened since, Zell couldn't believe that Seifer would cover for someone else. He had always been the kind to look after his own interests first, consequences on others be damned. Apparently, people _did _change.

"Because home-wrecking is more of your style, not matchmaking. Besides, we heard you."

"Heard me?" Seifer looked as dumbfounded as he sounded, but as usual, he recovered from it quickly. "Nice to know that you listen when I talk."

Squall snorted, annoyed, behind Zell but kept quiet. It seemed like he didn't want to add fuel to Seifer's already flaming knowledge of their relationship.

"No, we heard you talking outside my room."

The shocked look the tall blonde sported had Squall audibly choke back a laugh.

"You were in there?" Seifer demanded incredulously.

"No", Zell assured him, smiling. "You were right about that."

"I know I wasn't that loud and unless you were following me…." He didn't continue, but his voice left no doubt that he would not take such violations against his privacy lightly.

"I didn't follow you!" Zell protested loudly, but the party kept on interrupted. Zell wasn't the type to practise modesty when it came to public attention. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"So you got puberty boy to do it?"

"Seifer." Squall used that tone that tolerated no bullshit, and this time it efficiently got Seifer to listen. "There's a small gadget called a security camera that's installed in almost every room and hallway throughout Garden. After that incident with the Haste-spell that misfired, we added audio surveillance. We were, quite rightfully, curious as of why you were occupying the floor space outside Zell's room and we decided to - if you insist - eavesdrop a little bit. I must say that we were rather surprised by your heartfelt confession."

_Silence._

"Huh? I'm sorry, can you repeat that part after my name?" He turned to Zell while eyeing Squall cautiously. "Is he on drugs? I'm not so sure it's safe to let him out among people. What if he starts a conversation with someone?"

Zell was unable to retain his mirth, partially because Squall wore a sullen pout and partially due to Seifer being completely serious.

"Nah, he'll be ok. But it's not about him this time. For once, it's actually about you. Well, you and Selphie and Quistis and whatever poor souls you managed to persuade. How the hell did you guys come up with a plan like that?"

Seifer seemed to have sobered up considerably since they started their discussion and with the way he crossed his arms in front of his chest and tilted his head, Zell could've been fooled into thinking he hadn't been drinking anything stronger than water.

"Well, if you heard me, you know my opinion of the whole matter. And that was probably as honest as I'm gonna get about it."

He was honest about that too, Zell realized. He sighed and opened his mouth to say something, only to change his mind and address his boyfriend instead. "Squall, why don't you go get us some punch."

Squall's childish moping hadn't diminished at all. "Seifer's had enough, I'm not bringing him shit." But right now wasn't the time to bring up duties and personal growth.

"Then get one for me. And you", he added quickly.

"Just don't get used to have me to waiter on you like this. I'm only doing it because I kinda owe you one."

The Commander disappeared into the crowd and Seifer smirked.

"Got him wrapped nice and tight around your little finger now, don't you?"

Zell's mouth unwillingly curved into a smile. "For tonight I do. Listen, Seifer. I can't really be mad at you, any of you. I mean, happenstance, chance and good plain luck had everything play out nicely. But I need your word that this won't ever happen again. Never."

Seifer nodded, suddenly looking very tired.

"Yeah, you got it. My word I mean. I just thought, you know… I mean, you guys…. Ah, fuck, I don't know what I'm trying to say. All I know is that next time Selphie or Quistis come to me with one of their 'brilliant' ideas, I'll think long and hard about it. Maybe I'll just say no on principle."

"Good. That's probably all I can ask of you."

"But don't expect me to turn it down if it's clearly beneficial to me, in debt to you."

"Didn't cross my mind."

Squall returned, carrying two cups and a terse look. He handed Zell one of the former, glared at Seifer for good measure than downed his entire cup in one go.

Seifer blinked. "That's my cue for leaving. Play nice, boys." He stumbled off across the dance floor, crowd moving away to create a path for him.

§§§

"Is something wrong?" Zell stood as close to Squall as he dared in a public place, one hand fisted to keep it from reaching out. Squall shook his head and realized that he had to keep his own hands firmly in place as well.

"No, just…. Nothing."

Zell eyed the clock nervously and Squall had a pretty good idea of what the blond was thinking. He smiled faintly, allowing himself a quick caress of their hands.  
"Really, I'm fine. Tired, you know. It's been a long day."

"I know. I just got a little worried there for a moment. I don't want you shutting down on me already."

Squall's smile melted away, apparently unnoticed to his friend -- lover -- boyfriend --- whatever. Zell's attention was wandering around the Quad and Squall was uncertain how the get his attention when he wasn't one hundred percent sure he wanted it.

"Zell", he began and marvelled at how soft his voice became. Had it always done that when he was talking to the blond?

"Yeah, baby?"

"There's something I want to talk to you about."

It wasn't a conversation he was going to enjoy and despite of himself, he thought he was certain of the disastrous outcome of it and just thinking about it turned his stomach sour.

"What ab-… Oh! There's Selphie! I gotta talk to her, be right back!"

He was off before Squall could open his mouth and the gunblader sighed. He had almost conjured enough balls to bring up the topic but it seemed that fate didn't want him talking to Zell about it. Maybe he should that that as a strong suggestion to shut up and leave the matter alone.

§§§

Selphie was high strung the entire time, even when Irvine tried to tell her about his encounter with Squall and Zell. She cringed whenever she heard the Commanders name and he soon took pity on her and began a different approach. She seemed to appreciate his silent comfort more than his attempts to talk her out of her funk anyway.

"You did a great job, sweetie", he whispered as he hugged her close. He felt her smile against his chest and Irvine gave himself a pat on the back. He definitely had this boyfriend thing down.

"Thanks", she murmured. "I put a lot o love into it, you know."

He smiled at her, twirling her hair around his finger.

"Happy V-day, beautiful."

"You too, Irvy. I love you."

Wow! Stop, rewind and press play.

What the hell?

She seemed to notice his surprise and gave him a tight squeeze before she pulled away. "It's ok", she said, smile sweet and forgiving. Irvine wanted to kick himself.

"I just wanted to tell you that. You don't have to worry about it being a regular thing. I only wanted you to know how I feel."

Even though he had her reassurance that she didn't expect any similar declarations of love, he still felt obliged to say _something._

"You know I care a lot about you, baby, and you are the single most important person in my life." It didn't really mean much, he didn't have any family or any significant friendship that he would defy gravity for, but he hoped she realized that he spoke from the heart. "Never doubt that."

He almost panicked when he saw her eyes tear up, but when he noticed that tiny pull at the corner of her mouth, he knew they were happy tears.

But in the midst of their 'special moment', those baby blue eyes widened and Selphie looked downright terrified.

"Oh my gods, Irvine."

"What is it?"

Her gaze was fixed on something right behind him, and he knew even before he turned who it was. "Zell."

He came face to face with the shorter blond, a primal instinct to protect his mate kicked in and he pulled up to his full height to gain some kind of advantage. Selphie cowered against his back and even though Zell didn't look more of a threat than usual, he remained as a shield between them.

"I need to talk to Selphie." Zell's voice was void of all cheeriness and Irvine frowned. No way he was leaving Selphie to be eaten alive.

"Then talk." He tried to look as intimidating he could, feeling naked without his weapon. He didn't honestly think he would ever use it on his friend, but it was a safety net, a security.

Zell's response to his challenge was a raised eyebrow, the impassiveness in his stance unnerving the sharpshooter more than the constant and unpredictable bounce.

"Alone, if you don't mind."

Irvine snorted. "Hell yeah, I mind. Whatever you wanna say, you can say with me here."

There was a frosty glare in those sapphire eyes, but Irvine chose to ignore it. He and Zell might not be the best of buddies, but they were friends and above all that, they were colleagues and had something called professional courtesy.

"Fine", Zell said, voice still stern, but the eyes were softer now when the obligatory power struggle between the alpha males were over and directed at Selphie. "You hurt my feelings today, Selphie."

A pathetic whimper was the only answer to his statement, but that didn't put Zell off.

"I never thought you capable of such betrayal, not to me. Why did you do it, Selph?"

Selphie's hand was tightly fisted in the back of Irvine's shirt, and he could feel her tears wetting the fabric.

"Hey man", he warned, reaching out to hold Zell back, even though the fighter hadn't made any attempt to come forward. As if Irvine would have been able to stop him with raw strength if he had tried.

"I was taking to Selphie."

"More like harassing her. Chill, man."

Selphie tugged him back and moved to stand beside him. "Zell's right to be mad at me", she said, still holding onto her boyfriend for dear life, but obviously finding enough courage to face the man she had called her bestest friend a few hours ago.

"Zell, please", she began, lost her voice and started again. "I'm so sorry for what we did. All we wanted was for you to be happy. I mean, I must admit that I wouldn't have done much if Quistis hadn't pointed it out to me, thought it's not her fault. Not hers alone. We thought it was time that you and Squall got off your asses and did something about it. Sounds so stupid now and it's like you said, Irvine, we had no proof. But the more we thought about the two of you having….romantic feelings towards each other, the more plausible it seemed. I mean, he's so different with you and everything."

She drew a deep breath and prepared to go another round when Zell interrupted her. "You gonna let me get a word in edgeways?"

She nodded eagerly, so willing to please and Irvine wondered how much ice Zell had eaten for breakfast to be so unaffected.

"I've already heard all that from Seifer, well, minus the tears and the puppy dog-thing. I just want to know one thing, Selphie." She gulped audibly.

"Do I mean that little to you that you'd ditch me and my dinner party? You always make me come to yours."

It was said with such icy undertones that both Irvine and Selphie needed a moment to actually hear the words. When Selphie sniffed, confused, Zell smiled sweetly at her, baring his teeth.

At one point, Irvine had been envious of the blonds pearly white grin, until the martial artist had confided that most of them were fake. It seemed that the two things magic couldn't cure were severed limbs and knocked out teeth.

Selphie didn't seem to understand that Zell wasn't really angry with her and it wasn't until he held out his arms for her that she squealed and threw herself into his embrace.

"Don't ever do something like that again. You promise. Not in any smell, shape or color, understood?"

"Yes, Sir, I understand and I promise. Promise to Hyne! I love you too much to ever do that again…. Swear!"

Zell laughed and lifted her a bit off the ground.

"I love you too, silly."

Despite himself, Irvine felt his stomach knot itself up. Selphie thrived off affection, it was made very clear today and love was the greatest affection of them all. If he was incapable of giving her that, would she turn to someone else? Someone like Zell?

Not _Zell, _obviously, but someone who offered his heart on his sleeve and showered everyone he loved with the knowledge that he did?

Someone, that without reservations and hesitations, would tell her that he loved her?

§§§

Quistis would never, under any circumstances admit that she had cried that day. But if anyone had seen her just as she had emerged from her hideout on her couch, covered with an army of blankets, there would have been no doubts that she had.

But she had come to terms with her situation and made some plans to remedy the whole thing. It required a little more thinking and a lot more planning before she would dare to execute them, though.

She sighed and sat down in front of her laptop, still wrapped like a cocoon with blankets, despite it being Valentine's Day and way past office hours. She had work to do. Come morning, there would be no reason for her to spend more hours in her office than she absolutely had to. Maybe she should finally have time to do that inventory she'd put off for months…?

But at the moment, it was more therapeutic work. Her job, no matter how tedious the stamping, all the signing and the writing was, it was an amazing cure for a troubled mind. The accuracy it required and the familiarity of it, took away the edge of her despair.

But when the program was started and the document opened, she sat staring at the screen, unable to make her fingers move or jump-start the business part of her brain.

"What are you doing?"

She almost fell out of her seat at the unexpected voice, for a moment wondering where the sound came from until she spotted Seifer, staring at him like he was an alien.

"How?… The door…"

"Was locked, yes. But I had this nagging suspicion that you wouldn't open if I knocked, so I let myself in."

"I have to get the code changed."

He smiled disarmingly, and sat down on the edge of her desk. "Feeling better?"

"Not really."

His hand was warm where he placed it on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"You can relax and stop being upset now. Turns out Chickie and Commander Leatherpants gave us quite the performance before. We're all ok again. Last I saw, the two sugar-addicts where back on hugging and kissing terms. It's hard to tell with Squall, though. Despite him being strangely odd at the moment, I doubt he can stay mad at us. We did give him Zell delivered on a silver platter."

Quistis managed a smile as some of her anxiety relented.

"I'm not sure it's gonna be enough. It's different with all of you. Maybe Zell can forgive me, he's not much to hold a grudge, obviously", she gestured at Seifer and he nodded. "But my relationship with Squall is very fragile, at best. I had just about gotten him to trust me and then I go pull as stupid stunt like this."

"Quistis." Seifer's tone had taken on a hard edge and he pulled away from her, taut arms crossed. "I hate to rain on your pity parade, but you have to stop this martyr shit, it's not effective anymore. Frankly, I think you should get off your high horse and stop treating us like ignorant kids."

She looked long and hard at him, trying to see if he was yanking her chain, but there was only seriousness in his eyes.

"What?"

He sighed, and began to walk back and forth behind her. "Every time something goes wrong, you place the burden on yourself, to prove how mature and responsible you are and then you expect everyone to feel sorry for you. It worked for a while, until I realized that you enjoy the attention."

"Seifer." She added a little heat to her voice, but it didn't work. Seifer had no compassion for her.

He was right of course. It wasn't a conscious decision she made, but she did take on a lot, more than she could handle sometimes and she found a sweet satisfaction when others would give her sympathy and concern. She hadn't expected to be called on it, though.

"I've been meaning to tell you that for a while, before you work yourself into an early grave. And I'm drunk now, so it makes it a little easier. Technically, your plan worked. Squall is not too happy to be set up and yes, he'll probably be pissy for a while. But you won't take the brunt of it, or me. Not even Selphie, although I can tell she's a little too much for him. He'll take it out on Zell, because he knows the situation and Squall trusts him. It's gonna spoil the 'love is in the air' mood we've all been feeling lately."

"You're awfully talk active."

"No different from usual. Only this time you're not rushing off claiming work-responsibilities so I can take my time."

Quistis sat pondering for a moment, thinking through every thing that had happened that day and what Seifer had just informed her of.

"I do make myself unapproachable, don't I?"

"Yup, I'd even venture so far as to call you a bitch."

She gawked for a moment, but now she saw that playful gleam in his eyes. That not saying that he didn't mean it.

"Now you're pushing it."

He smirked and winked and before he left, he leaned in close to whisper in her ear; "When I see you tomorrow, the weight of the world will not be on your shoulders and you'll come to work with a smile on your face. That'll throw Squall off."

He sauntered over to the door, only one small misstep showing that he was indeed inebriated. He lingered for a moment after he'd opened the door.

"You'll wanna talk to Zell tonight, though. It will make you sleep a little easier."

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

DISCLAIMER: Don't own FF8.

WARNING: CHAPTER CONTAINS ADULT THEMES! And not only that, it's some serious YAOI happening. Oh my God, get out while you can!

I've had some serious internet-problems for a few weeks. Lightning struck and disabled our broadband receiver. It has been hell, but it seems fixed now. And this chapter has been burning a hole in my harddrive and I need to get it posted! I really hope you'll all like it, I've been over it dozens of times.

* * *

Chapter 9 (Contains sexual misconduct...) 

"Can we go now?"

That was the third time in half an hour that Squall had voiced his desire to leave and normally, Zell would have been out the door and long gone by now, but despite being less Commander-Squall, he wasn't the leopard-spotted-party-animal-Squall they'd seen on Halloween.  
"You were the one who wanted to go", Zell reminded him and gave the library girl he'd been talking to an apologetic smile. "You did before we got here, anyway."

Squall looked around nervously, his entire body language screaming of discomfort and suddenly Zell thought he knew what the problem was. He grabbed the rigid brunettes hair and leaned in. "Listen, I won't let you make a fool of yourself this time around." Sometimes it was just best to humour him. "I know how to say no to you now."

He could have imagined it - things had been so hectic lately - but he might have caught a flicker of a sensual look in Squall's eyes. Zell would probably have written it off as his explicit imagination, **_if_** those sultry eyes weren't still looking at him.

His heart made a summersault at the memory of their moment earlier that night, and it fluttered even more when he realized that Squall must have thought of the same thing. The long stare between them inspired new and sexier images and Zell realized he'd gotten hot under the collar.

"We'll leave in a second", he promised, when an impatient but polite cough from the girl who's story Squall had so rudely interrupted, broke their trance.

"We better." Squall began strolling away with a sly wink over his shoulder.

Hyne, Zell thought and tried to suppress a grin as he continued to listen to whatever story the girl was telling him. Squall being flirtatious? Absolutely unbelievable. He'd been introduced to the sexy side, the shy side and the somewhat crazy and adventurous side of Squall, but he realized there were a gazillion other sides of his Commander that he had yet to experience and practically no time to do it.  
And he was wasting that time, listening to a girl he had no interest in.

"Sorry", he cut in, adding a little of his goofy charm that most girls seemed to find adorable. "I really have to go. Don't wanna be suspended for not obeying orders, you know."

He was on Squall's heels in a heartbeat, leaving the girl standing flabbergasted behind him. But him following Squall around like a whipped dog was luckily not an unusual sight.

"That was fast."

"Yeah well, you are the Commander of Balamb G and your wish is my command."

Again, with that sad smile. Zell was beginning to wonder if that was the only smile Squall was capable of anymore. What had happened to that smirk he'd thrown around so carelessly last year? The blond was tempted to ask about it, but he had learned that things went smoother (and inevitably faster) if Squall was allowed to choose is own pace.

"So, what do you wanna do instead?" Zell asked flippantly, throwing an arm around Squall shoulders. He'd done it so many times before that it was more of a familiar gesture than anything physical.

Squall shrugged indifferently, although Zell saw him sneaking a peak at the dance floor. He kept his tone carefree as he asked, "Fancy a dance?"

He noticed how the brunette tensed and hesitated before he vigorously shook his head, and Zell grinned.

"You know", he whispered huskily in Squall's ear. "I have a stereo in my room, some records and that disco light Selphie gave me. If you don't have other suggestions, we can go back to my room and…"

He left the rest unsaid, letting Squall interpret his silent anyway he pleased. The gunblader stopped and bit his bottom lip in thought. That was something Commander-Squall never did, probably because it wasn't very professional and made him look an awful lot like Laguna.

Even though everything that had happened between them, all the things that had been said, Zell was still worried about rejection. This wasn't just some random guy he'd picked up at a supermarket; this was Squall Leonheart, Saviour of the World and several other equally pompous titles. One misstep here, and he could say buh-bye to his career. At least the fun part of it. Even if Squall wasn't the vindictive type, Zell doubted that if things wouldn't work out between them, working together would become difficult and then maybe a transfer would be in order.

It might even be so that Squall wasn't even interested in a relationship of any kind and what had happened between them would just be excused as a drunken mistake - end of story.

"Sure."  
Zell had wallowed so deep in insecurities that Squall's voice came through as a mild disturbance. It wasn't until he noticed the "I'm really impatient here and don't wanna wait another second"-pose that Squall only displayed on rare occasions that he realized his Commander had talked. It was followed by the "You'll be sorry if I have to repeat myself"- face he'd become quite accustomed to.

"What?"

But instead of trotting off with an indignant huff that he'd been known to do, Squall only sighed. "I said, sure. Why not?"

The grin that spread across Zell's face threatened to unhinge his jaws. "On my six, Commander." (1)

They only ran into two cadets, obviously intoxicated who attempted to simply run past them, giggling, when Squall stopped and stared and the two turned dead serious.

"Sorry, sir", one of them said and Zell recognized her from his martial arts class. He assumed he preferred 'sir' over 'instructor', but if he'd been the boss, there'd be no titles whatsoever.

"No problem", he said and gave her a smile. "Just be careful."

They nodded, throwing concerned glances at Squall who hadn't even moved, but kept staring. Zell refrained from elbowing him in the side.

"Go back to the party, kids. It's not over yet."

"Yes, sir!" They saluted him cheerily and Zell snickered, giving them a sloppy salute back.

With the two kids running down the hallway, back towards the music, Squall returned from his reverie a slightly disgusted wrinkle at his mouth. "Hyne, that shirt gives me the creeps."

Zell hadn't even noticed the leopard print on the other girl's shirt until Squall mentioned it and all he could do was laugh. "Get over it, damn it!"

"Were we like that when we were cadets too?" Squall asked as they continued to Zell's room.

"I know I was. Me and Seifer would always get into an argument just seconds before an instructor walked by. And I was all 'Yes, sir, Instructor, ma'am', and Seifer would always hassle me about it. But I caught him doing the same thing at least twice."

Squall smiled and did a quick perimeter check before he reached out and took Zell's hand.

"I thought you were funny. No one could, or can, talk themselves out of a pinch better than you."

"Yeah", Zell agreed and took full advantage of the intimate handholding that was going on. "Saved me from a lot of detention hours. Seifer has the opposite gift. I've never met anyone who can talk himself _into _a pinch better than him."

While he was talking, a frown accompanied Squall's scar across his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Zell responded with a frown of his own. "Hey man, don't lie."

Squall bowed his head down in defeat and Zell felt strangely privileged to have seen it. "Why do you always bring up Seifer when you tell a story?"

The blond's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged in disbelief. "What?" His automatic response to questions he didn't want or couldn't answer was to claim lack of knowledge, but when he thought about it he realized he did bring up Seifer a lot.

"I don't know", he confessed, ransacking his brain for something that sounded a little more intelligent, but Squall beat him to it.

"Do you like him?"

It was asked in such a way that there were no doubts as to what kind of 'like' Squall was referring to. Zell spluttered something incoherent as too many words tried to make themselves understood. When he recognized Squall's inability to translate his chokes and cusses into a reply, he settled for shaking his head. Once he felt confident he'd soothed Squall's immediate worry, he calmed enough to form comprehensible sentences.

"Are you insane? After all those years of…. No, Squall. Not like you implied anyway. What the hell gave you that idea?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while. I didn't think you did, with your history and all, but I had to ask."

Zell chuckled, amazed that Squall would even get such an idea. "But why?"

"Like I said, whenever you tell a story of your past, it's always something you and Seifer did, you know, together."

Zell shrugged. "I suppose it's because even though he and I haven't been on the best of terms, like ever, we've done a lot of things together. Seems like we end up in the most bizarre accident after the other, more or less willingly."

Squall pursed his lips, thinking. "Unlike us?"

"No, baby! Come on, we've done a lot too. It's just that they're…."

"Not as memorable?"

Zell pulled his boyfriend to a stop and turned him around by his shoulders.  
"Man, you gotta get over all these issues!" The blond took a deep breath and looked Squall deep in the eyes. "You have to admit that the situations that we've gotten into haven't been all that hilarious. And if they were, it's never been just you and me there. When it comes to storytelling, Selphie is the queen and Hyne help anyone who tries to trespass on her territory."

Squall smiled and nodded.  
"Do you remember our diary pact?"

"Of course."

The pact had been forged when the repercussions of the GF's had become known and they suddenly began losing memories. They had vowed not to let the memorable moments and the small details get lost in the haze. Selphie was, of course, the one who had taken the pact the most serious, for practical reasons regarding her party-planning, but Zell had three-quarters worth of shelf space dedicated to his diaries. Tonight's events would undoubtedly be documented in great detail, because this was one night he refused to forget. "Don't worry, your mentioned plenty of times."

Squall's smiled took on a wider edge, a hint of a blush dusting over his cheekbones. " I have to admit that… so are you."

"Yeah?" Zell inquired, genuinely surprised. He had always assumed that Squall's diaries contained nothing but battle strategies and infiltration schemes, maybe a few cunning ways of avoiding Rinoa. It hadn't occurred to him that Squall wrote journals just like anybody else. Although, Zell concluded as he opened his door, it did make sense. Someone of Squall's importance couldn't possibly keep everything bottled up inside without going bananas.

"Yeah", Squall confirmed. "Mostly all the good things you'd done that day, like making me feel better. You're very good at that."

The confession made Zell feel all fuzzy inside and he wanted to pull Squall into a hug. In the enclosed confinement of his own living room, he gave in.

To his uttermost satisfaction, Squall responded immediately and Zell couldn't help but shudder as those slender hands splayed on his back and warmed the expectant skin underneath.

The embrace lasted longer than it probably should have, but under the circumstances, Zell cherished every moment he could engage in physical contact with Squall.

"Hey", he whispered and reluctantly removed himself from the brunette. The way hands lingered on his hips, keeping him close by, made Zell almost want to cry. "I thought we were going to dance."

"And we are preventing that…how?"

"That's not the kind of dancing I had in mind." He felt provocative and added, "Yet."

Disentangling himself from his blushing soon-to-be dancing partner, Zell began setting up a dance floor. Only after Squall had stared at him awkwardly for a few minutes did Zell allow him to help. "Move those chairs to the wall and roll up the carpet", he instructed while he proceeded to dig deep in his closet. He knew he had hidden that embarrassing small-scale disco ball he'd received as an emergency birthday present during a mission in Fisherman's Horizon. It had drawn out longer then expected and since Selphie had left the real gift at home, she had gone out on a mission of her own.

Apparently the only thing she could find that wasn't a fishing tool had been that ball. Zell had sceptically accepted her claim, thanked her and buried it where no one would find it.

"Booya!" he exclaimed as he retrieved the item, still in it's original package with unbroken seal. He walked over to Squall in the other room, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. It was almost frightening at how comfortable he felt doing that already. "Why don't you pick out some tunes?" He pointed at the bookshelf where he kept his stereo. "Suitable music should be on the lower left shelf."

Zell broke the seal on the box and took out the ball, no more than the size of his fist on a thin foot. He plugged it in and flipped the switch and watched it as it began to rotate, slowly at first, to then pick up a little pace. The sparkling silver dots that started to dance around the room wasn't as impressive as from its larger cousin, but it worked well enough for what they had in mind.

Behind him, Squall was just putting in a CD in the stereo and moments later a familiar tune began to play. It was a slow song, with a dull but rhythmic beat and it was the last thing Zell had expected Squall to choose.

"How did you know? I love that song."

He was impressed. Squall had never showed any interest in music and as far as Zell had seen, Squall owned no more than a handful of albums, all of them gifts.

"I like it too."

"How would someone like you know of the Estharettes?"

Squall slowly walked out onto the cleared floor space and waited for Zell to join him. "My dad is a big fan. Plays them all the time. He even knows their choreography, which he never hesitates to demonstrate. Hell, he'd probably try to teach you."

Zell laced his arms around Squall's neck and pulled him close while finding a pace that matched the music. It took Squall a moment or two before he fell into step, but once he did, he pressed them tightly together. It was the kind of dance that the older generation referred to as 'hugging in a circle', but it was the kind they both knew and suited the moment.

Their dance continued well through three songs and only stopped when it distracted them from kissing.

"You know", Zell whispered. "My feet are getting sore."

And obvious lie, since he was barefoot and Squall hadn't stepped on them once. "Maybe we can stop and lie down for a moment. Rest our legs?"

Squall nodded and moved away a bit.

"Sure. But you owe me a dance."

It brought Zell back to the moment just after they'd stepped through the door to his room and the comment he had made, only half in jest. His heartbeat picked up as he looked Squall questioningly in the eye, trying to see what Squall had actually meant. He couldn't be sure, but he might be reading innuendo into everything that Squall said.

But when the brunette reached down to take his hand and tugged him gently backwards towards the bedroom, Zell lost all doubts. Having sex with Squall had been his number one fantasy since he hit puberty and no amount of warnings from his conscience could keep him from fulfilling it.

The short distance from the bedroom was like a dance itself. Sensually in its movements and sexually charged.

Zell lost his shirt first, carefully removed by Squall's nimble fingers and when they moved to trace slow patters over Zell's chest, the blond shivered.

§§§

Despite his lack of experience, Squall was certain in his movements, following his instinct and desires. He allowed Zell to yet again to pull his blue shirt over his head, relishing in the flutter of butterflies in his stomach. He wasn't nervous, he realized, as much as he was excited. They'd preformed this dance before, but it still felt new. Hell, Squall felt like an entirely different person when he stood shirtless in front of Zell. All his hesitations were gone and there was only one way this could end. No doubt he wanted Zell, in the way Zell obviously wanted him and with no inhibitions to stop him, Squall was all for it. And ready.

He was shamelessly craving, too. Craving touch and intimacy, the kind he had never shared before.

"Zell", he breathed, trying to convey with his lovers name alone how much he needed him, and wanted him. Tried to make him understand how desperately he needed them to tumble back onto the bed and just get on with it.

Luckily, Zell had always been perceptive to Squall's silent wishes and he nudged Squall a little further.

"Bed", he clarified, indicating the furniture behind him. Without further thought, Squall bent down to pull off the comforter and moved the bedding aside. Hopefully, things would get messy. As soon as he was done, Zell moved past him and with deliberate slowness eased himself down onto the bed.

Squall stood and watched, mesmerized at how that strong body moved in the flickering light coming from the living room, and almost erupted in flames as Zell began to unbutton his own pants. He reached down to help, but Zell batted his hands away, with a sexy smile. "Not yet. Just watch."

And watch he did. His eyes moved constantly across chiselled muscles and smooth skin and when Zell began to ease the dark fabric down over his hips, Squall lost his breath.

Zell wasn't wearing anything underneath and it took all of his willpower not to disobey Zell's request and tear the garment down powerful legs.

Once Zell kicked the piece of clothing off his feet, he lay there a moment, oblivious to his own naked perfection, eyeing Squall under heavy-lidded eyes. "Like what you see?"

He sat up on his elbows and Squall almost drooled.

The blond undoubtedly saw his answer in storm-clouded eyes because he smirked and winked. "Your turn."

It took a while for Squall's mind and body to coordinate and it was with unsteady fingers that he tried to discard his own clothes, but the urgency he felt at the prospect of having that body underneath his, hindered his progress.

With a breathy chuckle, Zell sat up straight and bluntly resumed the brunette's sloppy work. Squall's entire body hummed and he was positive that Zell could feel it.

The incredibly sexy blond made short work on the remaining clothes, chucking them down to Squall's ankles and left the Commander to figure out the rest.

Once Squall was naked, they took a moment only to look at each other.

"Hyne, you're gorgeous."

Squall had been thinking the exact same thing, that for a moment he thought he'd voiced it out loud. With cat-like grace, Zell rolled onto his knees, and ran a skilled hand up Squall's thigh. "So gorgeous", he repeated and Squall almost whimpered when hot breath whisked past his erection. That had felt great before, but now he wanted more.

"You gonna let me into that bed?" he asked, shocked at how gravelled his voice sounded. "Or are you planning on having me stand here all night?"

Zell smiled, but his hand kept moving slowly up his leg, just barely touching Squall where he wanted him the most.

"What's stopping you?"

Squall felt every muscle in his body tense just before he pounced. He was so attuned to his own body, he swore he could feel blood flowing rapidly though his veins.

Everything Squall had ever been taught about lust had never prepared him for this. He thought their moment together before had given him the general idea, but the ravage obsession that nearly devoured him whole caught him completely off guard. He felt like a wild animal and reacted as such.

His mouth found Zell's purely on instinct, since he couldn't keep his eyes opened. Seeing who he was kissing, and how, was much too intimate at the moment. Besides, he figured his visual senses took a backseat to all the other senses working overtime, except his common one. (2)

He felt Zell's jugular vein pulse against his tongue and licked it leisurely, throwing in the occasional bite and as their heated bodies came in flush contact, they both voiced a needy sound and a chill ran down Squall's spine. Hyne, how he wanted that voice to scream his name!

Bracing himself on one hand, he allowed the other to feel as much as possible, in the shortest amount of time. He felt nails dig into his back and arched up to meet them, grinding their hips together mercilessly and Squall almost lost it.

He only briefly registered that one of Zell's hand stopped touching him, his concentration solely on the body beneath his. It wasn't until he heard his name uttered through a needy sigh that he moved off.

Zell presented him with a plain-looking tube and he wondered of its purpose until Zell popped the lid and one of his legs moved to rest against Squall's hip.

Now Squall couldn't decide if it was nerves or excitement. Even in his frenzied state he recognized it at as a crucial moment. He didn't want to hurt Zell, but inexperience combined with rampaging hormones wouldn't make him very considerate.

"What if I hurt you?"

"You won't", Zell assured him, fingers playing carelessly over his skin. Then he smirked. "We could do it together."

Squall didn't understand the meaning until Zell smeared the cool substance in his own fingers as well as Squall's.

"Hyne", Squall whispered repeatedly as Zell's hand came between then and he followed its descent. His body froze, unmoving, as Zell's index finger first just circled his own opening, to then slowly push it inside. Squall's erection was pulsing so hard he thought it would come loose and he felt sweat run from his temple.

The slick finger moved in and out of Zell's body and with each inward push, the blond would deliver a hitched breath, the beginning of Squall's name on his lips again and again. When he stopped, finger still buried deep inside and looked expectantly at Squall, the brunette had to fight to regain movement.

"Hyne, I can't. I'll…." Zell shushed him gently as his left hand came up to guide Squall's right.

"No you won't. Just slide it in next…to mine." The mere words seemed to turn Zell on as the act itself would and that gave Squall some courage.

Quickly, Squall went through his options. He could refuse, but then there would be no sex tonight…. Not much of an option, he realized, as he couldn't bring himself to back peddle now. The other was to continue, to act first, just for once.

With a trembling hand, Squall let his finger run alongside Zell's and only hesitated for a moment before pressing it in next to the first.

He vividly remembered the discomfort he had felt himself, but there seemed to be none of that in Zell's features.

"You ok?" he asked, still uncertain that he was doing it right.

"Uh-huh", was Zell's only answer, with his head thrown back and his mouth slightly opened. Squall pushed in deeper, amazed at the tightness, the velvety feel and the heat. Hyne, the heat! He ventured a quick look away from Zell's body to his own, measuring his member to Zell's entrance.

"It's not gonna fit", he gasped, disappointed.

"Don't worry, baby", Zell said and cracked one eye open. "That's what we're working on. You wanna do the honors?"

Despite his rather submissive position, Zell was very much in charge. He knew what he wanted and how he wanted it done, and that gave the brunette the comfort of going through with this. At least this was something that Squall couldn't correct him on.

He smirked when Squall frowned and pushed down onto their fingers. "Another one."

Stunned, Squall complied and let his middle finger move in under the other. This time Zell arched his back, and Squall gawked at the obvious stretch the blond's passage had to make and the resounding groan that echoed through the room. "Gods, yes!"

Only knowing that he made Zell feel good, Squall began to move his fingers more deliberately, following Zell's as they began to stretch the fighter. The Commander noticed how Zell's moans would pitch high on certain occasions and he made mental note to ask about it afterwards.

"I think", Zell panted, "That we're done." A thin sheen of sweat covered his torso, making him glitter in the light.

Squall's eyes again measured the radius of the inserted fingers.

"It's still not--"

"It will be", Zell interrupted, irritated and restless. "And I can't wait any longer, anyway."

Spurred on by Zell's need, Squall pulled his fingers out and growled as Zell's remained in place, moving slightly to make him shudder.

"Fuck, Zell." He moved in for a heated kiss, loving how, even after they'd kissed so many times, they still felt so amazing.

Zell finally removed his finger and although Squall had enjoyed the show, he knew he had something better to look forward to. "Squall, now would be a good time."

The brunette found himself with the tube in his hand. "I trust that you know what to do with that."

_Sort of,_ Squall admitted to himself and squirted some onto his hand and hoped it was enough.

He wasn't an exhibitionist like Zell, so he crawled over him, kissing a lazy trail up Zell's flushed torso, while coating himself. Masturbation wasn't something that he often indulged in and certainly never in the presence of someone else. In the mix of the intoxicating feeling of Zell, the lack of mental reservations and the undeniable power of his arousal made him forget that he was shy about stuff like that and just let go. Zell moaned encouragingly in his mouth, bucking his hips up, grazing against Squall. He almost bit his tongue at the sharp surge of pleasure.

"Hyne, Squall. Now!"

Squall leant back on his heels as Zell lithely placed a leg on his shoulder. With a body shaking by nervous tremors, Squall guided himself right and began pressing into Zell's body. He whimpered as he was engulfed in something not far from heaven. The few sexual acts he'd been involved with in the past (all women) had not prepared him for what it would feel like. An almost unbearable friction combined with an all consuming heat and the sexiest sound he had ever heard had him gritting his teeth and fighting against his own body even before they'd even started. Zell moved constantly against him and around him, not allowing him catch his breath.

He bowed his head and tried to will his arousal to dim, for the pleasure to lessen just a fraction to let him enjoy it. But Zell was merciless.

"You're killing me", he managed to choke out. He got no reply and made the mistake to look at his lovers face.

Somehow Zell's tattoo only intensified the contorted expression of ecstasy, mouth open in a soundless scream, impossibly blue eyes burning through slit lids. Squall was so close to losing himself that he had to bite into his own arm, pulling at the skin until the pain subdued the passion enough to let him function properly.

Slowly pulling back, Squall gasped but managed to stay in control. How the hell could anyone last more than ten seconds in such a paradise?

The rapture was almost overpowering and he felt frustrated for his own lack of endurance and wavering restraint. He didn't want to hold on anymore. He almost felt angry, with how he sweated and his blood pulsed hotly. He pushed back in and found the sensations as strong as before and he nearly howled in rage.

"More", Zell pleaded. "I'm so close… Fuck, just move!"

"It won't last", Squall pressed out, jaws aching.

"Don't care", was the breathy reply. "Just go."

Squall tried a second backstroke only to find it worst than the first. "To hell with it", he growled and pushed in roughly. Zell shifted against the assault, angling his hips and with the next thrust his scream echoed through the room.

Squall didn't care. He didn't even care enough to breathe, so he held his breath and delivered the few thrusts he had in him with as much passion as he could muster. With a final push, his body finally found an outlet for all that frustration.

He knew orgasms during sex was much better than those achieved on your own, but Squall doubted he would survive if his climax could get more intense than the one he experienced.

As cruel as it might sound, Zell seized to exist the moment Squall's back arched and his whole body went rigid. The unadulterated pleasure that coursed through him made him blind to anything but his own body and the divine turmoil it underwent. It wasn't until his arms were no longer able to support him and he crashed down on Zell's spent body that he remembered his lover.

"Shit", he murmured and considered rolling off, but Zell hadn't said anything or even moved, so Squall stayed where he was.

After a few moments of silence, Zell stretched and his hand came up to play with dark hair.

"You're wild, baby."

Squall blushed with embarrassment and was glad for the cover that Zell's body provided. He had never liked anyone commenting on his performance, especially not in bed, not even if it was praise. But Zell wasn't finished. "I love it, though", he declared breathlessly and wriggled a little. Squall took that as a cue to get off and Zell made a pained face as he pulled out of him, but it was gone in the blink of an eye.

"You're fucking amazing, babe. Hynedamned perfect is what you are."

Snuggling up to Zell's side, Squall placed a shy kiss on his cheek, silently begging his lover not to say another word. Zell obeyed, only after telling Squall one more time how good he'd been. Despite his inability to take a compliment, Squall smiled tiredly. "You too. To all of the above."

He hadn't planned on spending the night, it was a little too much too soon, even for them. But whenever Squall tried to climb out of bed, Zell's arm was tight around him, or Squall simply couldn't bring himself to. The blond's body was still heated and he could hear the slowing heart rate in Zell's chest and he found a strange comfort in having another human being so close.

It had been ages ago, his relationship with Rinoa. They hadn't really worked out, she too insecure and he trying too hard. But it had given him a taste for flesh, sort to speak and when they'd gone their separate ways, things had, quite accidentally, heated up between him and a few co-workers that he knew were discreet. But not like this. Not like the thunderstorm he'd been in just moments ago, not that drawn out agony of longing he'd felt prior to Zell's return. He knew it was more than just passing lust, but he didn't know enough to put his feelings into words.

And in the middle of trying to decipher something cleaver to say as of why he shouldn't stay, Squall fell asleep.

§§§

Quistis was sitting restlessly beside her phone, idly letting her finger run over the receiver. She had considered stopping by Zell's room, but standing face to face with him was probably more than she could handle. And if Seifer was right, Squall would probably be there, and she would still try and avoid him as much as possible. Seifer could say what he pleased but he didn't have to work next-door to Squall.

And picking up the phone had proved to be difficult enough, as she had found herself replaying her first day at Garden in her mind, remembering how nervous she had been and how she had gone out of her way to be as polite as possible and make a good impression. She specifically remembered how she and the rest of the gang had been reunited with Zell. Even though he had promised upon his adoption to stay in touch, she hadn't believed that he would. None of them did. He hadn't, of course, except for a strange-looking picture of something indiscernible on Selphie's seventh birthday.

Thinking back on it, she couldn't recall how Squall had taken their reconnection with the fighter, but then again, they'd been only thirteen and such feelings must have come way later, if not just recently. But the friendship had of course always been there and Squall could deny it all he wanted, because she did vividly remember the day of Zell's departure and a little brown-haired boy locked up in the bathroom for two and half hours. She didn't need any diaries to remember that.

With a mental smack on the back of her head, she picked up the phone and forcefully dialled the number. She fought the urge to hang up when it started ringing and wished she had when Zell answered, obviously roused from sleep.

"I'm sorry, I woke you."

"No, Quisty, it's alright. It's not my bedtime yet, I was just….napping."

She heard a faint rustle in the background as he kept talking. "You wanted something?"

He sounded no different than he usually did, although her calls to him were infrequent and usually very short.

"Yes", she confirmed, quietly, trying to form the right words in her head. "I wanted to apologize and I realize it's lame doing it over the phone, but…."

"No worries", he picked up where she left off. "I suppose you're lucky in a way." He chuckled sincerely. "Since your set-up, well, let's just say I can't be mad anymore."

"But you were?"

"Kind of. Well, not _mad_ maybe. More like disappointed. But I'm over that too. It's just that I made all that food!"

She smiled, even though she knew he was just trying to make her feel better. "Zell."

"Right, so you're forgiven."

Despite his flippant behaviour, she was genuinely relieved. "Thank you." And after a moment of doubt, she added, "And Squall?"

"He won't be mad at anyone for a few more hours, so I should enjoy them while I can. Don't worry. Tomorrow, he'll be back to…normal."

She caught the slip easily, wondering what it could mean, but before she could think more about it, or ask unnecessary questions that she had no business asking, she began to end the conversation.

"Again, I'm sorry I woke you."

"And like I said, no problem. And Quistis, once burned, twice shy, right?"

"More like scared to death."

They hung up in mutual consent and Quistis sighed. With the last of her worries gone, she felt the fatigue fall on her like a pile of bricks. She hadn't figured that matchmaking could be hard work and keep such long hours.

* * *

May I be so confident as to say that this lemon ROCKED! Frankly, I enjoyed writing it immensly. Wanna do it again! 

(1) Has anyone else noticed my shameless use of "JAG" quotes? I have no idea why I do that...

(2) Common sense... Everybody should know what that is.

Leave a review, yeah? I'd love to get your response on this one!

Hugs, Z


	10. Chapter 10

A brand new chapter, that's been really long in the making. But I actually think I've finished this story. Do you have any idea what a relief that would be for me if that's the case? If I am indeed done, there will be one more chapter after this, one that is actually already written and typed! GO ME! I didn't finish _before_ Halloween, but I finished _for_ Halloween. Almost the same, right?

Well, enjoy, and beware of the angst….

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Zell woke with a startle, the last phases of his dream fading back into the depths of his mind. He could just barely remember it and shuddered at the thought of having green hair.

The odd bits and pieces of his dreams had him grinning at himself and snuggling back into the mattress, before realization hit him.

Should there be someone else in bed with him?

With a jolt, Zell sat up in bed his mind reeling. Everything that had happened the night before, and especially the events that led him into bed, came back full force and with each new memory another followed until Zell was watching an uncensored version of last night, complete with subtitles and running commentary.

"Shit."

He'd learn long ago that there was no point in regretting something you'd done, because by then it was too late to undo it and since there was no statute of limitation on regret, what was the point? But having sex with Squall, under the conditions that they had, he probably wouldn't have minded regretting that. It was just the kind of thing you didn't do, and still have your morals intact.

But with awareness of his predicament came doubt, and not in a small dose. How had Squall perceived their nocturnal activities? The fact that he was no longer present in Zell's bedroom should give him some indication, right? But then again, what Squall had told him last night during dinner said differently. Remembering that conversation, Zell mentally face palmed. Squall had asked him if he was ok with the fact that his commanding officer might be feeling a little bit more than just friendship, and Zell had said 'yes'. A 'yes' he was now rethinking the sincerity of.

"Shit!" he said again, hiding in his hands.

Waking up next to Squall may have made the decision-making easier, but right now he could think of anything worse than facing Squall.

At least until he'd had a decent workout.

The clock kindly informed him that it was barely 4.30 AM and that the training centre wasn't opened. Not that that would stop him when he had an emergency such as this. Wasn't that what the code was for anyway?

He dressed in a pair of old sweatpants and a used t-shirt he found on the floor. It wasn't like anyone would be around to smell him anyway, and it took the urge to shower off another reason.

Checking his bathroom, and the couch on the way, just to make sure he didn't have anyone sleeping over in the bathtub, Zell snuck out into the hallway, heading quickly towards the training centre. He didn't bother trying to elude the security cameras since everything was recorded when no one was around to watch, but being stealthy meant not waking anyone up that could ask uncomfortable questions.

He successfully managed to avoid detection until he reached the large double doors of the training centre.

Seifer stood dusting spider web off his collar while cursing softly as Zell came to a confused halt in front of him.

"What the hell are you doing up so early?"

"It's not early", Seifer answered grumpily. "It's late. I forgot to keep an eye on the clock and got locked in."

Zell tried to force the smile away but found it impossible.

"You got locked in? For all this time?"

"Well, I didn't notice that I got locked in until a few minutes ago. Guess I dozed off for a moment."

Zell gawked.

"In the Training centre? Alone?" After reading Seifer glare correctly, Zell changed the subject. "How did you get out?"

"How are you planning on getting in?"

Zell planted his fist on his hips and adopted a self-important look. "By overriding the time lock with the emergency code. But you wouldn't know anything about that."

"Not unless someone told me."

"Who'd tell you? As far as I know, I'm the only one who knows, except the guy that randomly changed it last week."

Seifer sighed.

"Let's not argue, alright? I'm too tired for that. I went through the ducts. I trust you're not gonna tell anyone?"

"You gotta ask?"

"So, how you feeling?"

"Sore."

They stared at each other for a second before Seifer started laughing. Zell rapidly turned a shade of maroon upon realizing that he'd let his mouth run on it's own again.

"I meant tired, Seifer. I meant tired!"

"Sure you did." Seifer tried to control his mirth, but found that his eyes were overflowing with amused tears. He took a few breaths too collect himself, lips still curled. "You're cracking me up, Dincht. No wonder no one tells you any secrets, you can't even keep your own." He cracked his knuckles while giving Zell a complete once-over. "You look like hell", he informed helpfully.

Zell sneered. "What are you? The fashion police? It's almost 5 AM in the goddamn morning, I don't see you looking like a fucking princess either."

"I couldn't care less if you wore a damn tutu, that's not what I meant. With the risk of sounding like a bad song lyric, there's something in your eyes. Makes you look kinda… empty."

Zell sighed. Apparently Seifer hadn't been lying when he said he could read them better than they wanted.

"What it is, morning after angst?"

"You could say that."

"Wait, hold up. I was just fishing for hints, not a confession."

Zell shrugged. Why not tell Seifer the whole thing? He knew the situation, and he more importantly, he knew Squall. And it was painfully obvious that he needed to talk about it.

"You could call Selphie", Seifer offered tentatively. "You made up right?"

"Yeah, but she's got selective hearing. She'll hear 'me', 'Squall' and 'sex', then squeal and do her fan girl routine, but she won't have listened to a word I've said."

Seifer nodded in understanding. "What about Quistis?"  
"She might have conspired to get Squall and I together, but she's not the type who'd want details."  
"Irvine."

"You would make that connection, wouldn't you? But no. Besides, all his support aside, I think he's slightly homophobic. He's fine with me being gay as long as I don't prance around in front of him, you know?"

Seifer stared at him seriously, face seemingly carved from rock.

"It's too fucking early for this, and I've done enough meddling between you people in the past twenty-four hours to last me well into next year. The only person you _should_ talk to about this is Squall."

"I can't--"

"--do that", Seifer finished for him. "I know. Let's go."

"Where?" Zell asked cautiously, frowning.

"To the gym. You need to crack a few knuckles and pull a muscle or two, right? And while you talk your little heart out, I can catch a few Z's on the bench press."

§§§

Squall was staring blindly into the opposite wall as Quistis entered. She had tried to avoid him as much as possible all morning and it hadn't proved too difficult, since Squall hadn't moved from his office-chair once, but necessity had forced her too seek him out. If Quistis didn't think that she knew him better, she would have thought he'd sat there all night. Even though he'd already been in his office when she arrived early that morning.

"I need you to sign this", she said, trying to keep her voice level and neutral as she handed over Balamb Garden's monthly budget report. "It's rather urgent."  
Squall only gave her a blank look before grabbing a pen and scribbled his name on the dotted line, not even bothering with a read-through.

Before, Quistis would have insisted that he'd take a closer look, but you don't chew your boss out on the right thing to do, when you obviously had no idea what that was.

"Thank you", she said and hurried to the door.

"What would you do?"

Quistis froze just short of her escape, shoulders tense. She slowly turned back, watching closely as Squall sat fidgeting with his pen. When he didn't automatically elaborate, Quistis prompted. There was no point beating around the bush, it was better to get the cards on the table and have it done with.

"About what?"

Squall raised his head a little but still avoided eye contact, for which Quistis was pleased. That way she could at least pretend she was ready for what would inevitably come.

"Say there's someone…that you really like." He spoke haltingly, and Quistis pricked up her ears. "For arguments sake", he added and Quistis cursed the faint blush that heated her cheeks.

"Yes?"  
"Say you go out, have fun and…." The way Squall cocked his head and abashedly looked away told Quistis exactly what he meant. And she blushed even more.

"Yes?"

"And when… You know, the next morning….you're not sure."

She stood dumbfounded in the middle of Squall's office, trying to puzzle his fragmented sentences into something whole and understandable.

"Not sure about what?"

This time it was the ceiling that held Squall's attention. "Him…and you. You know, together."

Finally, the coin dropped. "Oh."

Quistis fought between feeling guilty for Squall's obviously emotional roller coaster and smug, for being right about the two. She managed a little sympathy too, because Squall had never been good with dealing with people, and it seemed more difficult for him the more important they were to him.

"Well?" He sounded so depressed that Quistis couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"I'd think about it. And when I thought I'd made up my mind, I'd think about it some more."

"And then?"

So that's what Squall had been doing all morning.

She mentally put herself in Squall's shoes, trying to imagine all that he'd said. She blushed furiously at the suggested lovemaking but got past it with only a wildly beating heart.

"And?"

She looked up at him, startled. "Sorry, I was thinking."

"It's only a rhetorical question, not an invasion of Galbadia."

She didn't smile.

"I'd talk to him."

It seemed like such a cliché, and it was probably the most universal solution to any problem, but it was undoubtedly effective.

"Talk?" Squall sounded sceptical, and with all right. Talking wasn't Squall's strong suit. In fact, if he could, the Commander would probably only use sign language as means to communicate. But Zell was good at it, though.

"Yes. Let him know that I have second thoughts and…"

Squall shook his head vigorously. "No, not second thoughts."

Quistis raised an eyebrow. What do you know?

"Doubts?"

"Reservations."

She tried hard not to smirk as she sat down in the same visitors chair she'd been in yesterday.

"About a relationship?"

He nodded meekly and Quistis successfully suppressed the urge to squeal.

"I'd tell him that too, if it meant he'd give me the time and space to figure it out."

"And if he hates you?"

"Zell won't hate you!"

She bit her lips when Squall's razor sharp eyes cut into hers, dangerously narrowed. "I was just…I mean, unless there's someone else…"

She'd hoped to at least keep one foot out of her mouth.

When Squall didn't respond, Quistis' heart sank. "There's someone else?"

Squall met her gaze point blank, his face vacuous. "And if there is?"

She sighed disappointedly and felt like crap. She'd really thought they'd make such a good couple, but if she'd forced them together against their wills and there was a third party…

"I'd definitely talk to him about that. Keeping that from him would only postpone the inevitable and cause unnecessary misunderstandings."

Squall turned to look at a not-too-recently-cleaned window, and kept his face away from her. After a long moment of silent she heard him sigh.

"There's no one else."

There was on odd tingle in her chest and she couldn't keep from grinning. Luckily Squall was still facing away and she managed to compose herself before he looked back at her.

"Talk to him, Squall. Just get it done, like ripping off a band-aid."

"Yeah."

Feeling mighty pleased with herself, Quistis made herself ready to leave when Squall called her back.

"Quistis. I'd appreciate if you stay out of my personal business unless I specifically invite you." He met her eyes again, deadpan. "To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."

She paled and nodded. "Yes sir", and hurried out the door.

§§§

"Hey! Are you even listening?"

Seifer stirred from his near slumber by Zell's sudden outburst and yawned.

"That was never part of the deal. And you don't have to yell."

Seifer stretched, yawned again and sat up, narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the disc bar.

"What were you saying?"

"You really think I should talk to Squall?"

"Hell yeah, Chickie." The tall blond stood and decided he was awake enough to try a menacing glare.

No, still too tired.

Zell shifted from one foot to the other, impatiently awaiting his reply.

"Obviously something clicked between the two of you last night, and I mean _really _clicked. You guys don't strike me as the types to just jump into bed with any random person, so that must have meant something. And between that time and now, you guys made the mistake to start thinking and now you got cold feet. Am I right?"

Zell was pouting by the punching bag, lethal hands stroking the soft-beaten leather and Seifer had a pretty good idea what he was thinking about.

"Tell me something." Like the little runt hadn't been running his mouth non-stop for the past ten minutes. "What is it that you doubt? Squall's feelings, or yours?"

Zell's eyes darted away and Seifer found that he was moderately surprised. So Chickie was the one that couldn't make up his mind?

"Why?"

"I don't know!" Zell began pacing in front of Seifer, his voice dropping and falling in time with his confession.

"I thought for sure I liked Squall that way and that what happened was what I wanted. But stuff got ahead of us last night…"

"I'd say."

"…And now I can't help thinking that everything was a giant mistake. Squall wasn't himself and I took full advantage of that."

With a sigh Seifer sat back down. "You make it sound like you raped him."

Suddenly Zell's eyes widened and he stumbled over his own feet. "Hyne", he whispered. "You're right."

"Woah, hold on! I was just joking!"

"But that would totally explain why he left without saying anything, and why he hasn't tried to talk to me. My Gods, Seifer. What did I do?!"  
"Ok, stop with the angst for a moment. If that were the case, you'd know about it. And for the record, you haven't tried to talk to him either, so how do you know he's not thinking the same thing about you?"

He eyed Seifer closely before shaking his head. "No, he's got no reason to think that."

He blamed it on the lack of proper sleep, because it took Seifer a long while to hear the undertone and put it in perspective of the topic.

"This will probably earn me a few months of nightmares, but I gotta ask, for clarity. He topped?"

Zell's only response to his question was a nod.

"So why are you freaking out? If he's top…" Seifer shuddered at the highly disturbing explicative image. "How can you possibly believe that he thinks you raped him? I mean, I'm no expert on martial arts, but when you bottom, you're kinda….bottom. Maybe you're just that good", Seifer snorted to get his sarcasm across, "but isn't it hard to hold someone down if you're… you know, _under_ them?"

Zell suddenly looked uncharacteristically serious.

"It's not about positions, Seifer. It's the state of mind."

"Squall's the Commander of Balamb Garden and the next in rank to become Headmaster. He didn't get there because he's got a pretty smile. He's smart as fuck and I seriously doubt you could _force_ him into having sex with you. It's not like him, and more importantly, it's not like you."

"I'd been drinking."

"Drinking doesn't make you a bad person, Zell. Come on, just drop it."

The shorter blond dropped unceremoniously to the floor like he'd taken Seifer's suggestion as an order, his face sullen and sad. Seifer got a flashback from his childhood of Zell bawling after he'd taken that stupid blue beach ball and punctured it.

"Guess it doesn't matter anyway. We fucked up."

"And quite literally too." Seifer chuckled, but it quickly faded when Zell's shattered blue eyes looked up at him.

"Come on, look on the bright side. At least this way you won't have to tell him his feelings are unrequited."

With a frown, Zell leant forward on his hands. "What you do mean, 'unrequited'?"

"Well, you said you didn't feel that way about him."

"I never said that!"

"Yes you did, and I quote 'I thought for sure I liked Squall that way'. In my ears that mean you don't think so anymore. With the whole past tense thing and all."

"Well, then there's something wrong with your ears, because that's not what I meant. Come on, this…_thing_ I feel for Squall didn't just happen over night. I'd be completely brain-dead not to think about Squall that way."

Seifer kindly refrained from making a comment, at least one that Zell could hear.

"But seriously, Seifer? Can you really see me and Squall as a couple?"

"I've visualized you two humping like rabbits, and that was bad enough. But no, I guess not. Although, Selphie did a good job convincing me of the opposite, but I blame temporary insanity."

Zell crawl over on his knees to Seifer, his eyes desperately wide.

"So you see. We're like polar opposites! I can't think of a single thing he and I can do together."

Seifer only dignified that with a pointed look, but Zell caught on. "Asshole, that's all you gonna see?

"Ok, you wanna hear my opinion?"

"Not really."

"Are you sure you're just not making excuses for yourself? Blaming it on the too many differences? All right, listen up, I'm gonna be completely honest. And you better listen carefully because I'll barely say this once. I think you and Squall complement each other well. You force a reaction out of him, he mellows you down. Apparently, attraction is not a problem for you, because if it were, I wouldn't be sitting here in the wee hours of the morning talking about this with you. And I agree, things went too fast, but done is done and you can't take it back." Seifer made a pause to make sure Zell took it all in. "What if I told you that you have to make a choice; be with Squall tonight, or never see him again?"

Zell sneered. "Now you're being a drama queen."

"Come on, what would you chose? I'm serious."

The fighter sighed and bowed his head. "Squall."

"Right, problem solved. Now onto the next. The issue of waking up in separate beds and not making an attempt to talk to each other." He tilted Zell's head up with his index finger and did his best authoritative stare.

"No matter what, you gotta talk to him. No excuses."

Seifer struggled to his feet and straightened his black sweater.  
"But what do I tell him?"

Zell, still kneeling on the floor, looked at him with pleading doe-eyes and Seifer averted his eyes quickly. Damn brat.

"A shorter and more articulate version of what you told me. And be honest, not blunt. Though I doubt Leonhart knows there's a difference."

He quickly exited the gym, before he turned sappy and stayed with Zell for a moment longer, albeit he did throw a 'Good luck' over his shoulder before the door closed.

Now he needed sleep.

§§§

Every time Squall stood to find Zell and discuss their situation, he ended up circling his desk only to sit down again and begin the thinking process anew.

He knew they had to talk; it made all the sense in the world. It was just that talking was probably the one thing where he couldn't perform one hundred percent. He could just barely lecture a student for disciplinary reasons. Having a heart-to-heart with someone he had a crush on, had slept with and wanted to continue to be friends with was in the same league as a root canal without anaesthetic.

He resolutely stood up from his chair, walked to the door and opened it.

_Well, this was good progress._

He closed the door behind him to stop himself from going back inside. He could do this.

He took a deep breath and looked to his right, down the corridor that would take him to the cafeteria where he knew Zell to be right now. The security cameras had proved it. It was neutral ground and the presence of other people might keep the yelling and the cussing to a minimum. Squall hated scenes.

But he needed to talk to Zell. Right now. Waiting would only make it worse, and possible unsalvageable. He really didn't want that.

Squall sighed dejectedly and turned left.

_I'm such a pussy._

§§§

There was a quiet knock on Selphie's door and 3.30 PM and she was slightly hesitant to answer it. It had only been an hour since Irvine had left and she really didn't want to talk to anyone else at the moment. Last night had really left her drained.

In spite of herself, she hobbled over to the door anyway and smiled faintly when she opened it and saw Quistis.

"You look about as cheery as I feel", Quistis said, looking tired and worn. "Can I come in?"

Selphie nodded and backed away, letting Quistis in. She was a little surprised to see the blond instructor come by her room, even though they undoubtedly had many things to talk about.

"We screwed up royally last night, didn't we?" Selphie snorted her agreement. "And by the looks of it today, things hasn't turned out the way we thought they would."

"We should never have gotten involved, Quisty. We go lucky that everything turned out alright in the end."

Quistis nodded slowly, leaning back against Selphie's bright yellow armchair.

"But we did get involved. Have you talked to Zell today?"

Selphie shook her head 'no' and watched Quistis warily. Whenever the other woman was acting like an instructor with her friends was when she wanted to make a point across.

"Then you haven't heard about his suspension from the training centre?"

"Irvine mentioned something about it being off limits to restore the species. He didn't say why."

"Apparently there's only one injured T-rexuar left in there. The rest was annihilated. It seems Zell has some 'issues' to deal with."

Selphie frowned. "What's your point?"

Instead of answer, Quistis kept talking. "And when I visited Squall this morning he asked me strange questions, like what I would do if I'd slept with someone I really liked and woke up the next day wondering what I'd gotten myself into."

Quistis certainly didn't look like she was joking and Selphie's jaw dropped.

"You mean that they…"

"As sure as I can be without having been there to see it."

Selphie almost felt groggy.

"Hyne, that was fast."  
"Yes", Quistis agreed, wearing her favorite stern expression. "And I think that's the problem."

"You couldn't be more right there, Quistis."

Both girls jumped at the sudden voice and turned towards the still opened door. Selphie, in her surprise, had forgotten to close it. It wasn't like she knew what Quistis was gonna talk about.

"You're lucky it was me walking by", Seifer said as he sauntered in, fresh from the shower. He let the door slide shut behind him and managed to glare at them both simultaneously before he started talking.

"That's not everyone's business to hear. But you have a point and we need to do something about it."

Selphie took it upon herself to be the reasonable one for once. "Seifer, we promised. All of us."

"Yeah, but they made us think that everything was alright. Besides, all we have to do is get them in the same room and make sure they stay there until they've talked about it. That's it."

"It's not as easy as it sounds."

"Well, if we don't do anything, anything they could have together is history."

Selphie and Quistis exchanged glances. They had both promised but all they really wanted was to see their friends happy. And if Zell and Squall's stubbornness held them apart, well, it was their duty as friends to make sure that they were brought together.

"That's what we did last time", Selphie tried, one last desperate attempt to rationalize it away, although they all knew she was doing it anyway.  
"This is different."

"How?"

"Because this time they _want_ to talk. Zell spilled the beans without thinking about whom he was talking to and Squall obviously did the same. They just don't know how and they're scared and they're stalling. We got to do something before they walk away from it and then all that drama last night was all for nothing."

"Alright", Quistis said and Selphie felt how she was pulled along, weather she wanted to or not. "What's your plan?"

"Simple. One get Squall to go to the Quad, the other get Zell. Tell them whatever necessary, to get them to come, lie if you have to. I don't care if you tie them up and drag them there. Thirty minutes from now, ok?"

"And you?"

"I'm gonna go set some things up to make it a little easier."

They all agreed to the plan and stepped out into the hallway, only to run into the last person they ever expected to see.

"Ellone?"

* * *

TBC 


	11. Chapter 11

Yep, this is the final chapter! I made myself sit down and have a read-through tonight, and once this is done, I'll be able to really relax. Ok, so not really, but somewhat. Loved the reviews I got for the last chapter, thank you again!

I really do hope you get some kind of closure, but I also want to remind you that Zell and Squall's relationship (whatever it may be, I won't tell you) won't end here. And then there's the matter of their payback...

Anyway, enjoy! (and it's a long one! YAY!)

* * *

FINAL CHAPTER!!

Squall' sister looked bewildered at their sudden appearance and gave them a hesitant smile.

"Hi, guys. What's going on?"

Answering her questions with a question, Seifer crossed his arm. "What are you doing here?"

"Squall called me yesterday and said he wanted a favor. I came by to see if everything was all right. But judging from your looks right now, I'm guessing it isn't all right."

Seifer shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. Selphie thought she could hear him mutter "fucking idiots".  
"What kind of favor?" Quistis asked. "The magical kind?"

Ellone nodded hesitantly. "Yes, the same as on Halloween. What's going on?"

"Oh Hyne!" Selphie exclaimed as Quistis gasped behind her. Seifer just frowned, with a mean look in his eyes. Through all this, Selphie hadn't once stopped to ask why Seifer was investing so much of his time into this. He was almost as known for his kindness and gentility as his happy-go-lucky attitude and respect for others, not to mention his friendship with Squall…

"No wonder things moved so fast."

Quistis was chewing on a well-manicured nail, tapping her foot. It would be a grave understatement to say that she looked anxious. She looked about ready to have a panic attack.

"Could someone please tell me what the hell is going on!?" Ellone wasn't much for shouting, or cussing, which made her outbursts even more important to listen to. The glare she served them all made even Seifer shrink, and it took only an intake of breath before Squall's sister was told the whole story, from the first set up to the second. When they were finished, Ellone stood gaping.

"Squall….and Zell?" she asked, utterly baffled. "I knew there had to be someone, since he asked for that particular spell, and on that day to boot. But I never would have thought it was Zell."

"Does it matter?" Selphie challenged, crossing her arms. The last thing the two lovebirds needed were narrow-minded relatives.

"Of course not! I love my brother, no matter what -or who- and I think Zell is a great guy. It's just that it came as a surprise, they've never shown any romantic interest in each other."

"Tell me about it", Selphie muttered, and couldn't help the look she sent Quistis' way. When it all came down to it, all blame and credit should go to Quistis, for making the assumption to begin with.

"So you'll help?"

Ellone shrugged as she looked at Seifer. "I don't know what I can do, but I won't stand in your way."

"Excellent!" The Gunblader clapped his hands together with a smack. "You're with me then. Let's move out!"

§§§

Selphie knocked on Zell's door before she should change her mind and run back to her room, and to Irvine. She had already had to lie to him once today. Ok, so maybe it wasn't so much a lie as it was holding back information, but she still felt guilty. Not to mention the turmoil of feelings she was having about lying to Zell - again..

He opened almost immediately, half dressed in boxers and a white tank top, and he looked haunted, with his eyes unnaturally bright, scanning her for recognition.

"Oh, it's you."

She could only smile at his disappointment and oddly enough found reassurance in it. She took a deep breath and tried to act as if nothing was wrong.

"Don't sound so happy to see me, you might make Irvine jealous."

The attempted joke fell flat on the ground, but the ice was broken and Zell gave her a grin.

"Sorry, Selph. Did you want something?"

"Yeah." She had wracked her brain about what to tell him and settled for something simple. The one that said that if you're gonna lie, do it big, had obviously never had anything to do with Zell. Then again, it was hard to cheat the master. "I was just wondering if you could help me clean up the Quad."

Zell frowned and leaned against the doorpost.

"I thought you had people to do that for you."

"I did, but they bailed (_after a job well done)_."

She had asked Seifer and Ellone to empty out the full garbage bags onto the floor again, so it wouldn't be too obvious. And it gave them something to do in case it took Quistis a while to get Squall to come.

"Can't Irvine help you?"

"He's busy, but if you don't want to, I'll just do it myself." Playing wounded was surprisingly easy and she had to keep from snickering as she turned away dramatically and heard Zell sigh.

"Alright, I'll come. Don't twist my arm."

§§§

Quistis had been standing outside Squall's room for almost five minutes, and twenty minutes before that trying to figure out the best way to lure the most suspicious person she'd ever met to the Quad. She thought she'd found the best excuse but once she'd reached his door, it sounded hollow and forced, which it also was.

She jumped when Squall's door opened and the brunette eyed her wearily.

"What?"

"Ellone's here." It was so well rehearsed on the way over that the words were out of her mouth before her mind had registered that they were needed. For a moment she was uncertain if she'd said the right thing (blurting out that Zell was waiting for him would not be a good idea) with all the activity in her head and almost slapped a hand over her mouth. But she forced her arms to hang passively at her sides and her face was kept slack with forced neutrality. And judging from the flicker in Squall previously so dead eyes, it might have been just the right way of saying it.

"Where?"

"She's with Selphie in the Quad."

She was pleased to notice that Squall's mind was too preoccupied to call Quistis on the fact that Ellone knew the way to his room by heart and could have come by herself. Now he only nodded and followed her out into he hallway. She grinned when she observed his outfit in the strongly lit surrounding. A pair of faded denims without a belt and a worn Gunblade-shirt that she vaguely remembered from one of his birthdays. Unless her memory completely eluded her, which it did occasionally, it was from Zell. So he had expected someone, just not her.

Squall didn't even object to her following him to he Quad.

§§§

Zell stumbled ungracefully on his own feet when he saw Ellone, but the skinny girl only smiled brightly at him so he walked over.  
"Uh… Elle? What are you doing here?"

"I'm helping Selphie clean up. Looks like you people here at Balamb sure know how to party."

"No" he said, feeling a flush coming on. "I meant in Garden."

She gave him a wide grin, so unlike the ghost of a smile that Squall would rarely give him.

"Visiting friends. How are you, Zell?"

"Fine." He wondered if it sounded like an obvious lie to her ears as well, and although he thought he caught a glimmer of something indefinable in her eyes, she kept smiling.

"Good."

"Looks like Selphie didn't need my help after all."

"No, she does. I mean, look at this place."

Zell agreed that it did look like a pigsty in there, and wondered how wild the party had gotten after he and Squall had left.

"Besides", Ellone said and pointed over his shoulder, "I'm helping Seifer, and we only made a pit stop so he could fix something."

Zell turned and saw the tall blond messing around with some cables, obviously talking to himself.

"Maybe I should help him instead. He's not too good with anything involving live currents."

Ellone giggled as she resumed her cleaning up, so Zell sauntered over to Seifer.

"Fucking electrical piece of shit…"

Zell chuckled as he crouched down beside him, looking over his shoulder.

"Didn't you learn you lesson last time?"

To answer his question, Seifer suddenly jerked back with a snarl, rubbing his hand while he glared at Zell with green eyes. "Then you do it!"

Zell sighed. "First of all, don't curse at it, that's why you always get shocked."

"It's electricity, Zell. Not a damn dog."

Eyeing the cables on the floor, the fighter removed his gloves. "What are you trying to do anyway?"

"Connect that box to the timer-thingy."

Zell only shrugged and grabbed to two cables, rolled them together and spat on the crossed wires. A spark flashed and the timer started ticking away.

"There. You happy?"

Seifer stood and stretched, one knee popping as he did, and Zell wondered how long Seifer had been at this.

"Fucking thrilled", the Gunblader answered as they both stood admiring Zell's handiwork. "Why did you spit on it?"

"It was something my grandpa always did." Zell shrugged. "Don't know why, but it works."

Seifer examined his shocked hand closely, glancing at Zell. "Did you talk to him?"

"My grandpa?"

"Don't be a smartass, you know who."

"No, never got the chance."

Seifer groaned. "You said you would."

"Yeah, well it's not like he made an attempt to speak to me either, so don't put this all on me."

Seifer suddenly straightened and looked at him, fiercely determined.

"Then here's your chance."

Without a word, he turned and walked to the door, beckoning Ellone with him and the door closed behind them. Zell barely noticed, because when Ellone had come running, he'd caught sight of Squall.

_I should have known…_

§§§

Once he and Quistis had arrived at the Quad, he'd cornered Ellone, keeping their conversation hushed. He had explained his rather uncharacteristic predicament to her and maybe he should have noticed her poorly hidden lack of surprise. She'd given him almost exactly the same advice as Quistis and that should have made him wonder as well. But it wasn't until Seifer had called her over, and she'd given him that sympathetic look that he had become to detest before running over to he blond that the warning bells went off for real. He turned to call her back, to stop them from getting involved unbidden again, when he caught sight of a familiar blond head and had to fight down the urge to vomit.

Shit, he wasn't ready for this.

A series if expressions passed over Zell's face, before he settled for cautious curiosity and slowly approached him.

"Another set up", he stated, stopping within talking distance, but still a good bit away.

Squall nodded and it took him a moment to realize that the ball was now in his corner.

"I've been meaning to talk to you", he said, trying desperately not to avert his eyes. He hated showing any weakness, but right now he would have to put all that a side for a moment. Straightening things out with Zell was more important than his need for appearance.

Zell looked down at his own feet, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Me too", he confessed.

"And when you're done with that", Selphie yelled through the door, "you can clean up the Quad."

They heard the door being locked from the outside, and Zell raised his head with a defeated smile, looking at Squall who couldn't help but bite his lip in bitter amusement.

"We're not letting you out until you guys kiss and make up!"

And suddenly, the stage was set.

Zell was, naturally, the first to speak.

"Why didn't you wake me up when you left?"

"Would it have made a difference?"

In a display of annoyance, Zell straightened and put his hands on his hips. "It would have avoided the crappy day I've been having. If you'd been honest with me then and told me that you had doubts, I would have known and understood why you left. Waking up alone after what happened last night, and I mean _everything _not just the sex, was not fun, Squall. And maybe it would have kept me from talking to Seifer about it, or being suspended for slaughter."

"I heard about that." It seemed he couldn't avoid Zell, even in the deepest corners of the library.

Zell tilted his head and Squall suppressed a shiver. Hyne, but he had beautiful eyes!

"I've heard a few things about you too. Never took you for the type to slam doors. In your own room."

Squall sniffed indignantly. That could hardly be called slamming.

"And you've never been one to cuss in public."

He looked away, remembering the cadet that had just happened upon him in the corridor back to his room. Poor kid had just glanced at him.

"Maybe I was a little high strung."

"You and me both, man." Zell's face turned suddenly innocent and Squall swallowed hard. "You said you wanted to talk to me. How come you never tried?"

"I did. About twenty thousand times. Never got out of my office." He crossed his arms and looked cautiously at Zell. "What about you?"

"Pretty much the same. Thought you wanted nothing to do with me, or something."

"Or something, what?"

Zell studied the hardwood floor closely and was silent for a long time.

"That you regretted it, never wanted to see me again, hated my guts, would never think about it again… you pick."

Squall did pick, but none of the above. He felt like he needed to add his side of the story, tell Zell something that would put his mind at ease before he chewed his lip clean off. He had such soft lips; it would be a real waste.

The brunette shook his head to rid if of distracting thoughts, because the last thing he wanted was the fighter thinking that he didn't care.

"It's kind of hard not to think about it." He hoped he made it sound like it wasn't completely unpleasant either.

Zell offered a quick smile, of sorts. "Thought something might've been wrong with the spell."

Squall shook his head vehemently 'no'.

"The spell worked fine, and you ought to know what that means by now."

"Yeah, it leaves your guard down and I used you."

"No! If anything, I used you." Trying not to stumble over his own line of thought and unintentionally hurt Zell, Squall went to sit down on a chair. "I figured what would happen if we ended up in a situation like that. I knew it was a possibility." Zell still stood turned away, but kept stealing glances his way. "I know you're spontaneous and that you would seize a moment like that, if you wanted to take it. I set you up for it."

"And if I hadn't taken it?"

"I would have insisted, threatened, ordered, begged…." Squall was only half-joking. "I just need you to know that I wanted to…you know. You didn't…rape me."

§§§

The air went out of him completely at those words, head dropping low at the release of the tension in his shoulders.

After his conversation with Seifer, the thought having Squall thinking if him as his rapist had discouraged him from being the one to make a confrontation. He didn't want to make things worse by forcing his presence onto the brunette, but at the same time he needed to apologize.

But the fact that Squall hadn't once looked afraid since they'd been locked into the room had eased his worries, but only a fraction. Squall was an expert at putting on brave fronts.

"I thought I had."

Squall didn't rise from his seat, but leaned forward as if to close their distance. "That's stupid, and you know it."

"It's not stupid", Zell objected. "You weren't _you. _Tell me honestly, would you have slept with me if you hadn't been bewitched?"

"Don't say 'bewitched', Ellone would go crazy."

"Then whatever! Would you have?"

Squall was about to answer when the Quad suddenly went dark. Every overhead light had been shut off and someone had thought it fun to cover the windows with dark fabric from the outside. A soft tune began playing, and almost on cue, a coil of lamps outlining the ceiling started up, the light rolling in slow waves around the room.

"That's so like them", Zell said, embarrassed and amused at the same time. "I just wish they wouldn't be so obvious."

"You didn't know?"

"Nope. Must be Selphie's idea, you know how she enjoys surprises."

They both looked at each other in the little light they were allowed, but whenever their eyes met, one would look away. The question Zell had asked still hung over them, but he wouldn't make another move until Squall had offered him something about his intentions.

Squall simply sat there on his chair, seemingly unaffected by everything. Ok, so not totally unaffected. There was the slight nervous shake from his hands and the frantically darting eyes whenever Zell looked at him.

Suddenly all those things stopped, the Commander seemed to freeze in his seat and then he stared up at Zell.

"This is gonna sound unbelievable juvenile", he said and stood, but not walking closer. "But I need you to make the first move. Technically, you already know how I feel, but I can't act on it if I don't know what you're thinking."

Zell looked up from underneath fallen bangs, a smirk on his lips.

"I was thinking that you look really hot in this light."

§§§

Squall ducked his head, a grin roaming freely over his face, because that was just the kind of straightforward answer he could expect.

"I mean, not that you don't look hot otherwise too, I just--"

"I know what you meant", he interrupted. "Thank you."

They settled into a comfortable silence, drifting just a little bit closer once Squall had stood up. But after replaying their conversation in his head, Squall realized that for things to move along, he needed to answer Zell's question and Zell still needed to make the first move.

Just as expected, the blond was the first to break the silence, fidgeting with the hem of his tank. "I thought there was no way we could be together after this. I mean, you're you, and I'm me. We're good friends and all, but we're not compatible. If you know what I mean."

Squall nodded, feeling a heavy lump in his stomach. This was the reason he'd been avoiding Zell all day, knowing that when they saw each other next, whatever they could or couldn't have would be determined.

"But after thinking about it, _a lot_, I realized there's no way we can go back to just be friends. I like you a little too much for that." He looked up expectantly. "Now you give _me_ something."

Squall had butterflies in his stomach, and he hadn't felt those in a long while. Last time had probably been when he'd let the first team of SeeD's go out on his orders, taking on full responsibility. But unlike then, these were excited butterflies.

"I probably wouldn't have slept with you. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't have wanted to."

He couldn't stress that fact enough. If they couldn't be together, or friends, he would make sure Zell knew he hadn't gone through this experience unaffected. That it _had_ meant something. Something good.

"So what do we do?"

Zell still stared a hole in Squall, who took a shaky breath. Hyne, he hadn't thought about this enough. He'd spent the entire day wondering if he could survive in a relationship, and then specifically in a relationship with Zell. And if he could survive without it.

"Obviously we like each other more than just friends", Zell offered helpfully, "and it would be really stupid not to do anything about it. But I think we can both agree that us as a couple will be tricky."

_Yes, but tricky doesn't mean impossible._

Squall nodded, urging Zell on to give him something he could take a stand to.

"We could start small", Zell continued, unperturbed by Squall's lack of verbal response. "You know, hang out and stuff. I'm not expecting us to hold hands or anything, because that would just be weird."

"Yeah", Squall agreed, frowning on the image of him and Zell holding hands.

"I know you're not a fan of public affection."

But he knew Zell was, always touching everyone, no matter the situation. It could be a hand on a shoulder, a stroke of a cheek, a slap of a hand, but he clearly communicated better with physical touch to accentuate his words. It worked for him, and Squall could probably get used to that. Eventually.

"Not really", he admitted, but giving Zell a look that showed that it wouldn't be a problem.

"So, let's just keep this between us?" Zell looked questioningly at Squall. "Well, us and Selphie, Seifer and Quistis."

"Don't forget sis."

"Right, and Ellone." Zell cocked his chin up and sported a thoughtful pout. "For a secret relationship, a whole bunch of people knows about it."

Squall smiled and resisted the strong urge to pull Zell into a hug. He knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt that after Quistis had left them, she'd taken her henchmen and gone straight to his office to observe over the cameras. They already knew enough, he wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing that.

"I know", he nodded towards the door where one of the three cameras in the Quad was situated. "And they're watching, too."'

"Shit", Zell followed his indication and eyed it suspiciously. "Can they hear us?"

"No, the Quad's too big, all they hear are echoes and static."

"So you mean they'll keep us in here until they see us kiss?"

Squall hadn't thought about that, but right now he really didn't want to be let out. They might have talked, but not nearly enough.

"I suppose we just wait. They can't keep us in here forever."

"Yeah, but I'm getting hungry. Didn't have much for lunch."

Neither had Squall and at the mention of food, his stomach made an appreciative sound. He looked around for something to distract himself with and caught sight of a blue plastic bag. "Might as well clean up", he said to himself, and went about picking up cups and candy wrappers. Zell soon followed suit and as they methodically went about cleaning up, as a busy silence followed.

After ten minutes the Quad looked almost useable again, and only needed a round with a vacuum. In the midst of tying off the bags, Zell suddenly stopped.

"Hey, Squall?"

"Hmm?"

"You never said what you thought of my plan. About us."

Squall tilted his head and tried to imagine what Zell had suggested. Spending some free time together - avoiding detection, sleepovers - extended time away, lazy conversation - worrying, cuddling… No matter how much he twisted and turned it, there was always something that outweighed the negative.

Opposite of him, Zell was waiting impatiently, bouncing on his toes and worrying his lip even more.

"I think…" Squall began and reached out to release Zell's lower lip from the attack of sharp canines with his thumb. He felt the blond draw a deep breath and hold it.

_This is it, Squall._

"I think it's a good plan."

Zell grinned, teeth sparkling in the near darkness and before Squall could react, Zell had dropped his bag on the floor, scattering garbage all over, and tackled him to the ground. The blond gave him a quick but thorough kiss before moving off.

"As of right now, no smooching, no holding hands and especially no inappropriate groping", Zell declared with finality as he stood.

Squall struggled to his feet and suddenly felt several pounds lighter. With the issue of Zell resolved, he could finally relax. "At least not in public", he added and winked.

Zell grinned back, but broke eye contact to retrieve his garbage bag. "Now, where was I?"

§§§

Quistis' grin was almost meniacal when they left Squall's office and Selphie made sure she kept a safe distance (and a Seifer) between them.

"That worked out well", Seifer said casually, rolling his shoulder like he had just quit a hard days work. "If I may say so. Is anyone hungry? I've been craving waffles all day."

"Me too!" Selphie made a skip in her step, punching the air. "With lots of syrup. Yum!"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Right, and whipped cream."

"You can't mix syrup with whipped cream, Selphie. She means chocolate sauce."

"No way, that's gross!"

"Uh, guys?" Selphie and Seifer stopped to look back at Quistis, her thumb pointing left down a corridor. "You don't think we should let them out?"

"Let who out?"

"Let them stay in there a little longer", Seifer mused. "I'm not so sure I want to be anywhere near the Quad in next..." He checked his watch, "45 minutes. Let them get weakened by hunger first."

"Right."

* * *

THE END!

And since this is the end, could everyone please review? I would like to know how many of you have been following this, but haven't reviewed. Just a short message is fine. Please?

Hugs, Z


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